Beirut rubbish dump birds shot by hunters near airport
Written by Malek

Hunters shoot down seagulls that are attracted by the garbage at the Costa Brava dump, on January 14, 2017 near Beirut"s International Airport

W460

Compiled news by Naharnet and BBC

Middle East Airlines chairman Mohammed al-Hout had on Saturday warned that “birds that gather on the tarmacs of Beirut's international airport pose a serious threat,” noting that “preserving passengers' safety is the priority. “I sent the hunters and we have to choose between MEA's birds (planes) and seagulls... Unfortunately, we are obliged to exterminate these birds,” Hout added, revealing that he was behind a controversial decision to send hunters to the airport's vicinity to gun down seagulls and other types of birds.

Activists from the You Stink campaign and the civil society staged a protest Sunday inside Beirut's airport against the nearby Costa Brava garbage landfill and the manner in which Lebanese authorities have addressed the presence of seagulls threatening flight safety around the airport. “We call for eliminating the main reason behind this crisis, which is the Costa Brava landfill,” You Stink activist Lucien Bourjeily said, referring to the seagull problem. “For Flight Safety, Remove The Landfill”, read banners carried by the protesters.

Hunters have been spotted shooting dead birds said to be threatening planes at Beirut's international airport, an environmental group has claimed. The men were spotted on a nearby rubbish dump blamed for attracting birds days after their increasing presence was called an "emergency". It is feared a bird strike could cause a crash, but the Lebanon Eco Movement have said shooting the seagulls breaches an international conservation agreement. It is unclear who the hunters are. Some activists called the shooting a "massacre", while the Lebanon Eco Movement released a statement condemning the killings "under the eyes of the security forces" and in light of the government's vow "to preserve the environment"

The statement accused them of violating the International Convention for the Protection of Aquatic Birds. Transport Minister Yusef Fenianos promised to deal with the problem earlier this week, after local media reported a Middle East Airlines flight encountered a large flock of birds as it landed on the airport's west runway. It was suggested an increase in devices emitting bird of prey calls around the airport to scare off the animals could solve the issue. But groups said this would not go far enough, and called for the dump to be closed - which it was on Thursday, less than a year after it opened.

The decision to shoot down seagulls has angered environmentalist groups, which described the move on Saturday as an “extermination campaign.” The step has also sparked a storm of criticism on social networking websites. The hunting of seagulls violates the Agreement on the Conservation  of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, environmentalists have warned. On Friday, Transport and Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos announced after an emergency meeting that foreign experts have suggested the use of pyrotechnics, flare pistols, percussion bombs, auditory repellents and chemical repellents to keep birds away from the airport.

It had been part of an effort try and resolve the city's waste problems, which had seen piles of rubbish stack up on the streets following the closure of the main dump. But a planned waste processing facility on the site is yet to be built, allowing rubbish to build up as high as 9m (30ft), according to reports. As a result, it was attracting rodents and increasing numbers of birds, which were seen flocking around the runways of the airport.