Last update - 00:00 24/01/2007
Bird count cancelled due to pressure from religious factions
By Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent
The Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority's (NNPPA) decided Tuesday to cancel the annual waterfowl count due to political pressure from religious parties.
Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra first postponed the count, which was originally scheduled for a Friday and a Saturday in the beginning of January, after the Shas and Torah Judaism factions in the Knesset said the count constitutes a desecration of Shabbat.
Ezra said conducting the count on a Friday only, would not harm the effort.
"We decided to cancel the count because we don't have enough ornithologists and volunteers," said Ohad Hatzofe from the NNPPA's science division.
"People who planned for the count two weeks ago were not available this Friday. This year the count will not happen," Hatzofe said.
The count, practiced annually for 43 years, is conducted by volunteers and ornithologists from bird watching clubs in Israel, and is a part of an international effort encompassing the entire northern hemisphere.
According to Hatzofe, the data from the cancelled count can be completed from future counts.
Hatzofe added however, that this is the first time Israel would not contribute to the international effort to preserve wetland habitat. According to Hatzofe, counting waterfowl is a crucial component in that effort.