The rehabilitation centre for birds opened its doors this afternoon in Keila. Today, 108 birds were brought to the centre from Tallinn and 22 birds from Nõva and Robijärve will arrive this evening. Altogether 230 living birds have been collected. Separate washing and drying rooms have been prepared in the centre and six tents have been set up for pools. Hot water containers have also been delivered and tomorrow the pools will be filled with water. The Ministry of the Environment obtained the tents and blowers from the Headquarters of the Defence Forces to whom the Ministry turned for assistance. We are very grateful to numerous companies that have helped to obtain the required equipment. We express our special gratitude to the Keila Squad of the Rescue Board and also to the defence forces who assisted in setting up the tents and blowers at night,” said Mr Olav Etverk, Deputy Leader of the Crisis Management Team of the Ministry of the Environment. 91 dead birds were collected today, more than half of these from the Pakri Islands. Altogether 3,163 dead birds had been collected by tonight. This number is smaller than the one given yesterday, as a week ago 150 birds were counted twice when the Environmental Inspectorate took the task of counting birds over from the Estonian Rescue Board. Today one dead sea eagle was also found in West Estonia. The body of the sea eagle was sent to the experts for assessing whether its death was caused by the oil pollution. Today, three oiled swans were found in Saaremaa. The Crisis Management Team of the Ministry of the Environment emphasizes that if someone finds birds that need help, they should neither take the birds home nor start helping, as their help might be incompetent. Instead, they should dial 1313 to pass on information on oiled and dead birds. Further information: Mart Siilivask Press Representative, Ministry of the Environment Phone (+372) 626 2811; (+372) 523 8402 E-mail: |
