Free as a bird - or under surveillance?
FAO Newsroom (United Nations)
June 1, 2006

Flying backpackers, communications satellites and a network of computers would monitor the movements of wild birds on their annual migrations under a plan proposed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The 6.8-million-dollar plan could also provide the world with crucial advance warning of the occurrence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, which causes bird flu. Deploying teams of national and international veterinary and wild bird experts on the ground, it would fill a huge gap in scientific knowledge about where, when and how wild birds associated with HPAI – principally aquatic and shore birds – migrate.

“All we have now is a snapshot. We need to see the whole film,” says Joseph Domenech, Chief Veterinary Officer of FAO.

The plan involves capturing thousands of wild birds before they migrate, testing sample birds for disease, and fitting some of them out with tiny backpacks weighing less than 50 grams each. After the birds are released, the sophisticated telemetry equipment inside the packs would track their every movement.

Visit the above link to read the entire article.