Since a week ago, bird flu has been discovered, among other things, in seagulls in Norwegian Finnmark. The municipality does not have exact figures on how many birds died, but it is estimated to be at least 3,500.
– This is an animal tragedy of great proportions, says Pål Johnsen, director of operations in Vadsø municipality, to Norwegian TV2.
The summer job at the municipality did not turn out quite as 17-year-old Adrian Johnsen expected. Instead of cutting grass and maintaining municipal buildings, he is at a lake outside Vadsø picking up dead seagulls together with two other summer workers.
Bag after bag of dead birds is thrown into a garbage can and placed on a truck.
– It is of course strange to pick dead seagulls and see that there are people sitting next to them and suffering, he says to TV2.
Many dying birds in the area
In addition to the seagulls already collected, there are also many dying birds in the area. Pål Johnsen believes that it would have been better for the young people to sit on a lawnmower in the center of Vadsø than to be forced to walk around the area.
– Those who remain here are not dead, we cannot pick them. It’s probably the hardest thing for the young people to see, he says and emphasizes that the municipality talks to the summer workers about what they encounter at work.
– We have to take care of them, and we do.
“Impacts the local community”
Wenche Pedersen, mayor of Vadsø, says that the municipality is working actively to remove as many birds as possible while informing the residents about the situation.
– It is clear that this affects the local community, and there are also many questions about what is happening, she tells TV2.
They have also been in contact with the Statsförvaltaren, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), she says.
– Some of the government authorities that have responsibility here have been a little late on the scene, she says.