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August 15, 2003 Contact: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has received a report submitted by the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine concerning the deaths of birds at the Southeastern Raptor Center. The Service is coordinating a review of the six-page report with experts in the field. The goal is to provide the Center with the best guidance to help handle the outbreak of Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG), both for the Center, as well as the wild bird population. The Service expects to provide additional guidance to Auburn by early September, if not sooner. We will continue to keep the public informed about this issue. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving,
protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats
for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages
the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses
542 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other
special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries,
64 fishery resource offices and 81 ecological services field stations.
The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered
Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally
significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such
as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts.
It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of
millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment
to state fish and wildlife agencies.
For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit our home page at http://southeast.fws.gov/ or http://www.fws.gov/. NOTE: You can view our releases or subscribe to receive them -- via e-mail -- at the Service's Southeast Regional home page at http://southeast.fws.gov. Our national home page is at: http://news.fws.gov/newsreleases/. Atlanta, GA 30345 |
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