More than 50 nationally protected animals electrocuted to death on grasslands? Official response to public security | Jiatang | Grassland

Recently, an environmental volunteer group launched the "Jiatang Bird Counting Man" wild bird observation and protection project, which attracted attention due to a monthly salary of 10000 yuan during the probationary period. The volunteer group has published multiple research articles stating that the recruited "bird counting personnel" have discovered more than 50 dead raptors under multiple power poles in the Jiatang grassland in the past month, including the great eagle, grassland eagle, white tailed sea eagle, falcon, etc., all of which are national key protected wildlife and are suspected to have died due to power grid leakage.

On June 25th, the public security of Chengduo County, which belongs to Jiatang Grassland, responded to Red Star News reporters that the case is currently under further investigation. "The public security, natural resources and forestry grassland bureau, as well as various departments of the State Grid, are investigating this matter and will issue an investigation notice later."

The Red Star News reporter learned from the Propaganda Department of the Yushu Municipal Committee in Qinghai that the local authorities have intervened in the investigation, but the claim of being electrocuted is not true. The cause of death is currently unknown, and investigators will dissect the dead birds. Subsequently, local authorities will issue a notice regarding the investigation situation.

According to previous media reports, a staff member of an environmental protection volunteer group recently discovered a total of 55 abnormal dead birds under a power pole in the Jiatang grassland, including 53 birds of prey belonging to the national key protected wild animals, including the buzzard, grassland eagle, white tailed sea eagle, and falcon. The recovered bird carcasses have been transferred to the Forest Public Security Bureau of Chengduo County.

Respondents provided pictures of raptor carcasses discovered between May 24th and June 18th, as reported by the respondents

More than 50 nationally protected animals died abnormally in the Three Rivers Source area

Local public security response

In May, an environmental volunteer group launched the "Jiatang Bird Counting Man" wild bird observation and protection project, which attracted a lot of attention due to a monthly salary of 10000 yuan during the probationary period. Recently, a Red Star News reporter learned from Chang Le, who applied to become a bird counting person, that the above project is actually aimed at observing and recording the survival status of wild birds in the Jiatang grassland, and investigating the situation of wild birds dying due to power grid leakage.

Respondents provided pictures of raptor corpses found under distribution cables and poles

Changle told Red Star News reporters that he arrived at Jiatang Grassland on May 24th this year and drove away from Jiatang Grassland on June 21st. In the past month, more than 50 abnormally dead birds were found under the power poles in Jiatang Grassland. He has archived the photos and video materials of the dead raptor, as well as the trajectory point files when the body was discovered, and the original information of each photo includes the geographic coordinates of the photo taken. According to his preliminary statistics, there are more than 50 wild birds of prey under national key protection, including the buzzard, grassland eagle, white tailed eagle, and falcon.

List of deceased birds provided by respondents based on their date of discovery, coding or geographical indication of nearby utility poles, species, cause of death inference, and latitude coordinates

"Counting birds refers to driving 50 to 100 kilometers on the grassland every day, recording live birds with the naked eye, and observing whether there are birds electrocuted under power lines and poles." Chang Le explained that the bodies of dead birds were transferred to the Forest Public Security Brigade of Chengduo County and the local forestry and grass department on June 21.

For the cause of the death of raptors, Chang Le speculates that it was due to electric leakage from the power grid during rainy and snowy weather, causing the raptors to electrocute and die. He said, "Currently, more than 50 bodies of raptors have been found under distribution cables, utility poles, or communication base stations." In grassland areas without power grid facilities and communication base stations, he did not find any raptor bodies. In addition, he added that some of the bodies of the discovered raptors were incomplete, or their tails were separated from their bodies, or their claws were separated from their bodies. It is speculated that excessive current caused the relevant parts of the raptors to be cut off from their bodies, and some bird carcasses have obvious burning marks.

Public information shows that Jiatang Grassland is located in Chengduo County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. It is the second largest grassland in Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai Province. This area is an important water source conservation area in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, with an average elevation of 4200 meters. There are various mammals such as desert cats and snow leopards distributed here, 72 bird species such as black necked cranes, and over 150 plateau specific plants such as gentian.

On June 25th, the public security of Chengduo County, which belongs to Jiatang Grassland, responded to Red Star News reporters that the case is currently under further investigation. Public security, the Natural Resources and Forestry Grassland Bureau, and various departments of the State Grid are all investigating the matter and will issue an investigation notice later. The reporter has contacted the Forestry and Grassland Bureau and the local State Grid Corporation multiple times, but as of the time of publication, no response has been received.

What is the solution to the problem of bird line dual protection?

The power sector and volunteers work together to promote harmony between power lines and birds

According to a report by Science and Technology Daily in 2019, raptors are the top predators in the Three Rivers Source ecosystem and play an important role in maintaining ecosystem balance. Currently, raptors in the Qinghai Tibet Plateau region include the Great Buzzard, Eagle Eagle, and Falcon Hunter. With the construction of projects such as the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province and the Qinghai main grid connection, some areas have also encountered problems such as birds being electrocuted and power lines tripping.

Regarding the reasons for recruiting bird counting personnel, the environmental volunteer group mentioned in the recruitment article that power grid construction and raptors have always been an urgent problem to be solved. State Grid Yushu Power Supply Company has also solved this problem through insulation wire sleeves, artificial bird nests, and other methods. In the spring of 2023, when environmental volunteers passed by the Jiatang grassland in Yushu, they discovered 9 national second level protected animals such as the buzzard and the grassland eagle that had been electrocuted within a few kilometers. Therefore, they set off to investigate.

Red Star News reporters have noticed that since 2017, the famous public welfare organization engaged in species and ecosystem conservation in China, the Shanshui Nature Conservation Center, has cooperated and participated in projects to promote the harmonious coexistence of birds and the power grid in the Three Rivers Source area. In the investigation, they also found that the issue of "bird line conflict" has been troubling the power sector and protection workers. During an interview, Zhao Xiang, Director of the Three Rivers Source Project at the Shanshui Nature Conservation Center, introduced that "the conflict between power grid construction and raptors has always been a global problem. Raptors need a broad perspective, so they often choose ordinary and tension poles of the power grid to live and stop, thereby increasing the risk of electrocution."

According to industry insiders, birds often carry materials such as wire and string to build nests on transmission towers, which can easily cause electric shock and lead to bird death, injury, and circuit tripping. The traditional practice is to install anti bird spikes and inclined crossbars in the iron tower to prevent birds from staying and building nests. According to an article from the Shanshui Nature Conservation Center, electric shock may occur due to conductive nest materials brought by bird nesting, or when previously non-conductive tree branches are wetted by water. Even if birds stand on towers to defecate, it is possible that the insulation distance of the power grid lines is insufficient, causing air breakdown and discharge. Smaller birds may also discharge due to flying in groups, while larger birds with larger wingspans may cause discharge. For the safe operation of the power grid, regardless of the reason, discharge may cause tripping accidents.

In 2022, the Shanshui Nature Conservation Center, in cooperation with the National Grid Public Welfare Foundation, promoted and implemented the National Grid "Migratory Bird Lifeline" and "Life Bird Nest" projects in Gansu, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Sichuan, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Xizang, based on the characteristics of ecological environment and bird activities in various regions, to help the national grid professional line protection and scientific bird protection public welfare undertakings from the perspective of biodiversity conservation. "The investigation found that the bird species that interact more with power transmission lines and require attention are mainly large and medium-sized raptors and birds of the crow family."

At present, there are many commonalities in the existing bird prevention and protection devices in various regions, mainly including insulation treatment of power lines, removal of birds, and artificial migration of bird nests. In terms of insulation treatment of power lines, many lines have completed insulation transformation, which can fundamentally prevent the occurrence of bird line conflicts. The relevant person in charge of the Operation and Maintenance Department of China State Grid Yushu Power Supply Company introduced that "in order to achieve a win-win situation between ecological protection and the development of the Three Rivers Source Power Grid, the original transmission lines have been transformed into insulated wires, changed from" bird driving "to" bird attracting ", and built" life bird nests "in areas where raptors inhabit more. However, it is worth noting that the insulation device itself has a certain timeliness, and its insulation effect will be reduced after a period of time.". Due to the adaptability of birds themselves, the effectiveness of devices such as bird repellents will gradually decrease. Therefore, insulation devices and bird guards need to be cleaned, replaced, and repaired in a timely manner to achieve the best bird protection effect.

Red Star News reporter Cai Xiaoyi Sun Guifang Yang Ling intern Xu Sanmei