The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka (WNPS) has called on the public to refrain from operating drones in Mannar as it is affecting the bird population in the area.
The society said Mannar’s migrant birds are being driven away as birdwatchers are flocking the area with drones to capture photographs and videos of the bird population.
The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society said it has been proven that the noise, and a resemblance to aerial predators, cause great anxiety to these birds.
“If they leave, they will never come again. It is a high price to pay so that the privileged few from Colombo can get their kick,” said WNPS General Secretary Jehan Canagaretna, in a letter to Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAA) CEO/Director General Captain Themiya Abeywickrama sent on Saturday ((29).
Jehan Canagaretna said the WNPS is appalled to learn that so-called birdwatchers from the capital are visiting Mannar armed with drones, endangering the continued stay, and future migration, to this unique place of these special, rare, and beautiful species of birds.
He pointed out that most are migrants, some flying in from thousands of miles away, to feed and breed in the hitherto haven of Mannar.
Stating that it appeals for an immediate declaration of the Mannar wetlands area as a no-fly zone to prevent an impending disaster, Jehan Canagaretna said the same prohibition must be applied to other protected areas as well.
“We appeal that the strict code of conduct be communicated through a campaign, to which the WNPS would extend its support for implementation,” Canagaretna added. (NewsWire)