Addu City, Maldives – MP of Addu Meedhoo constituency, which represents Meedhoo and Maradhoo Feydhoo of Addu City, located in the southern most atoll of the Maldives, Rozeyna Adam has said that the issue of increasing crow populations in the city would hopefully be resolved by the end of next week.
Rozeyna said this, addressing the issue of the declining White Tern population, a species of birds which are native to the city, due to the increasing population of crows, a species which has been deemed a pest in the city, as they have been observed to attack the White Terns.
With the increasing complaints being received by the council as well as those expressed on social media, Addu City Council has since requested the Ministry of Environment of Maldives for permission to exterminate the crows from the city, after revealed that the crows were released into the city by a group of unknown individuals.
The Ministry has since given the go-ahead to exterminate the bird species from the city by declaring it as a pest as it poses a threat to White Terns, which are a protected species in the country.
Rozeyna details in her updates post published on Facebook saying that Mayor of Addu City, Abdullah Sodiq (Sobe’) has reported that permission needs to be sought from the Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture of Maldives in order to kill the crows as a pest, which has now been requested from the Ministry.
She further explained that Fisheries Minister Zaha Waheed has reassured that the approval would be confirmed by Monday and that the extermination process would begin once the city council presents the approvals to the Ministry of Defense of Maldives. She added that once the Defense Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi approves of the request, the extermination would begin by Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF).
“I expect that this issue would be sorted out by the end of next week.” Rozeyna said.
White Terns hold a significant value for the people of Addu as it has only been native to the city until recently and represents Addu as a whole. As of recent time, many have shared concerns over crows being sighted attacking white terns and killing them. One video shared on social media showed a crow eating away at a White Tern which had been killed.
Recently Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration with Addu City Council and Addu Nature Park conducted a population survey in the city to determine the White Tern population in the city. However, the findings of this survey has not yet been published.
