Common cranes were poisoned like rats – Picture of the Day – Kommersant

The prosecutor’s office of the Stavropol Territory has appointed an additional check on the facts of the mass death of representatives of the animal world, including those listed in the Red Book of common cranes. Thousands of animals have died and continue to die because of the poisoned bait – banned zinc phosphide, which local farmers scattered in the fields to control mice. On the fact of the mass death of birds, two criminal cases have already been initiated on violation of the rules for the use of chemicals, which led to serious consequences. The authors of the petition, which has already been signed by more than 43 thousand people, demand to stop ecocide and stop the mass killing of animals. NCFU professor Mikhail Ilyukh fears that the thoughtless use of chemistry by Stavropol farmers can lead to degradation of the region’s agricultural systems.

The first reports of the mass death of common cranes in the Stavropol Territory appeared in early November on social networks. At the Ministry of Natural Resources then confirmed the death of Red Book birds, as well as other animals – foxes, hares, gulls, ducks, eagles and eagle owls – on the territory of Aleksandrovsky, Novoselitsky, Petrovsky, Trunovsky, Izobilnensky, Krasnogvardeysky, Andropovsky and Novoaleksandrovsky districts of the region.

On this fact, representatives of the RF SUSK in the Stavropol Territory initiated two criminal cases under the article “violation of the rules established for the fight against diseases and pests of plants, which negligently entailed grave consequences” (part 2 of article 249 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

The examination found in the samples of dead animals zinc phosphide – a poison intended for the fight against rodents, “which is prohibited for use.”

According to the investigation, “in November of this year, if the technology for using the drug used to control rodents was not followed, it was spread on the soil surface, as a result of which serious consequences for the environment occurred in the form of the death of common cranes, as a result of which damage was caused to the state.”

The poisoned grain simply scattered over the fields, although according to the technology it was supposed to be brought directly into the mouse hole.

The governor of the Stavropol Territory demanded to find “that person who decided that he could violate agricultural technologies with impunity, at random.” During the inspections, 12 agricultural producers were identified, who were warned against violating the law, and four protocols were drawn up on “violating the rules for handling pesticides and agrochemicals” (Article 8.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

However, new messages about the found dead animals appeared on social networks, and the prosecutor’s office received “appeals from citizens” about the mass death of representatives of the animal world. After that, at the direction of the prosecutor of Stavropol, Yuri Nemkin, in the Petrovsky urban district of the region, where the largest number of dead birds and animals has been recorded since the beginning of November, an additional check was appointed. According to preliminary data, more than 1.7 thousand cases of death of common cranes listed in the Red Book have already been recorded in this region.

Professor of the North Caucasus State University, Doctor of Biology Mikhail Ilyukh believes that the numbers of dead animals mentioned are most likely the tip of the iceberg, and their real number can be shocking.

He noted that there are no more than 60 thousand common cranes throughout Russia, and about 2 thousand individuals have already died in the region in two weeks and they continue to die, that is, we are talking about undermining the population of this Red Book bird. “According to the accepted methodology for calculating the damage caused, the removal from nature or the killing of the same common crane is 10 thousand rubles. for one bird,” Mikhail Ilyukh explained to Kommersant. “That is, according to preliminary calculations, the poisoning of 2,000 cranes is already 20 million rubles. And this is without taking into account other dead animals. According to him, even if we hypothetically assume that all the poisoned grain will disappear somewhere from tomorrow, it is very difficult to talk about the restoration of the population. “Unfortunately, our economy is winning over ecology,” the scientist complained and added that, if tough measures are not taken, the local agricultural system is in danger of degradation.

The authors of the petition posted on change.org, which has already been signed by more than 43 thousand people. The petition says that “in accordance with the requirements to prevent the death of wildlife in the implementation of production processes, as well as in the operation of highways, pipelines, communication lines and power transmission lines, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 13, 1996 No. 997 (ed. dated 13.03.2008, paragraph 9), in the implementation of agricultural production processes, it is not allowed to use technologies and mechanisms that cause mass death of wildlife or change their habitat.

The authors note that in fact, rodents can destroy no more than 10-15% of the crop, there are humane progressive methods to combat them, and suggest farmers to create conditions for birds of prey to live near the fields that will hunt them. “We ask you to take prosecutorial response measures to prevent further poisoning of wild animals during the cultivation of agricultural land and reclassify the article of the criminal case as ecocide,” the authors of the petition write.

The situation with the mass death of animals was also discussed in the Stavropol Regional Duma. The deputies said that “an increase in the population of mice, which has grown tenfold, could jeopardize winter crops and next year’s harvest.” At the same time, the deputies noted that in order to combat rodents, “it is necessary to follow the regulations for the use of chemicals.” As measures to combat the death of birds, the regional parliamentarians proposed “to strengthen the awareness of agricultural enterprises about new directions and methods for carrying out deratization”, as well as to consider the issue of compensating farmers for part of the costs “for the purchase of necessary drugs.”

Alexandra Larintseva, Pyatigorsk