Regarding the activities carried out, Refaunar coordinator Mr. Víctor Fratto explained that “the monitoring of groups of animals with symptoms of avian influenza is carried out permanently together with the municipal park rangers and the Puntaloma Wildlife Rangers, who in this case Thanks to the cooperation of county government staff, we have added maritime observations.”
The number of cases in Puerto Madryn so far is much lower than those seen in other places, such as the Buenos Aires coast. Detection work was carried out from the El Doradillo natural area to Cerro Avanzado.
Regarding this particular monitoring, Fratto said: “We set out together with the director of environmental protection, Maria Cabrera, in order to observe possible suspicious cases from another angle and then visit them by land. After disembarking, we will go to Punta Taloma continues its walking land phase. While we have found animals that have been registered as dead, all of the newly discovered animals are still alive and showing no symptoms.”
Finally, the Refaunar coordinator stressed that “prevention is very important not to come into contact with wild animals, either alive or dead, and not to take our pets to the beach”, adding that “except for snorkeling activities which have been suspended due to sea lions, the rest Tourism activities can proceed normally and in compliance with the protocols established for animal sanctuaries.”
Let us remember that Refaunar is the indigenous animal rescue program of the Club of Rome Foundation, and while its main mission is to protect, rescue and rehabilitate wildlife, in this case it works in partnership with the provincial wildlife management agency and the municipal government of Puerto Rico Madryn Perform surveillance and operational tasks in the context of a highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 outbreak.