Bird Society complains of being sidetracked

…as Govt hires private inspectors for coastline

President of the Guyana Amazon Tropical Bird Society, Andy Narine is now lambasting Government for the part it is currently playing in the non-function of his organisation which has been protecting resident birds in Guyana for the past 18 years.
Guyana’s coastline is a corridor for millions of migrant birds coming down from North America during the months of October to March each year.
Guyana Times understands that to prevent these birds from mingling with Guyana’s resident birds which could result in a major health crisis like the spread of bird flu, inspectors would have to provide coastal preservation by monitoring these migrant birds.
According to Narine, since 2004, the bird society has been monitoring these birds that would usually inhabit areas along Guyana’s coastlines, that is, some 265 miles of coastlines and riverain areas where public residents also inhabit.
Due to this fact, Narine is questioning the motive for hiring foreign inspectors thus sidetracking the society which has been protecting any major crisis from occurring.
“We have been monitoring all these birds across Guyana for bird flu, we have been doing all the groundwork as a bird society in Guyana looking out for the health, wealth and safety for birds seeing how we could preserve it…” Narine said.
Further, “If an infection was to break out, our population would go, terrible story would happen. They are disturbing our coastline, if these birds were to come inland and intermingle with our birds where they could transfer infection to resident birds where Guyanese take those birds for commercial and recreational exercise and nobody is saying anything about it”.
Narine told Guyana Times that presently, oil giant, ExxonMobil which is drilling for oil offshore Guyana is using personal surveyors not affiliated with the national interest to monitor the coastlines.
As such, the society Head is questioning the reasons for Government allowing private people to do national surveys when his society has been effective.
He is questioning whether the Government is putting every measure in place to ensure that Guyanese are safe in case of a crisis on Guyana’s coastline.
Narine is calling for an urgent meeting with the Government to discuss the issue. Calls made to the Business Minister for a comment on the matter proved futile.