The Suez governorate campaign to kill crows by throwing poisoned food in the streets has started to take a toll on humans.

One Saturday morning, while Dr. Mohamed Awad was working in the admission department of Suez General Hospital, he was startled by the scream of a woman in a niqab carrying a comatose child. Emergency tests showed that the child had been poisoned and needed to have his stomached pumped.

The Suez governorate campaign to kill crows by throwing poisoned food in the streets has started to take a toll on humans.

One Saturday morning, while Dr. Mohamed Awad was working in the admission department of Suez General Hospital, he was startled by the scream of a woman in a niqab carrying a comatose child. Emergency tests showed that the child had been poisoned and needed to have his stomached pumped.

The 6-year-old boy, Faris had been begging with his mother and brothers in several areas in Suez. That morning he moved away from them to find a half watermelon in the middle pier between the two river beds down the road. After smelling and tasting it, he thought it safe to eat.

Government campaigns

Faris accidentally got caught in the trap Suez authorities set to get rid of crows. The campaign, named ‘poisoned watermelon’, came a few months after the “one crow, one pound” campaign launched by the governorate last May, which focused, among other things,  on encouraging citizens to kill the crows themselves in return for one Egyptian pound for every dead crow. Youth groups were mobilized to educate citizens and warn them against the danger of crows. The governor asked the health directorate to remove the crow corpses.

Suez, formerly called ‘land of strangers’ was about to become ‘land of crows.’

One million people, two million crows

Dr. Hassan Aljaawini, Director of Veterinary Medicine in Suez says the crows problem is old, huge and exacerbating. The number of birds is increasing so rapidly that the Suez governorate (one million inhabitants) has more crows than twice its population.

The birds are harassing citizens and even attacking and injuring them. This could destroy the already modest tourism in Suez that hosts the largest number of crows in Egypt. While the complaints come primarily from the areas where crows live, the increasing numbers of crows could spread to other governorates.

Risks to ecological balance

Veterinarian Mohamed Helal thinks these campaigns are not feasible at all. On the contrary, they are causing bigger disasters. Successive veterinary authorities continue the same mistake: murdering hundreds of dogs, crows and other creatures.

A history of failure

Helal tells the story of similar campaigns. In the late 1990s, the governorate used the country’s archery team who tried for several years to fully eliminate the nests and flocks of crows without any success.

A similar attempt took place in the early 1990s when a Saudi delegation took a tourist trip to Suez. They were known as the ‘Sons of Laden’ – mainly from the famous Laden family. One of them volunteered to solve the problem of crows in the governorate and it was agreed, through some intermediaries, that the group would focus their hunting on crows only. The number of birds was not enormous and the campaign was professional and well-armed. The Saudi brothers were thanked and blessed for volunteering to eliminate the dangerous bird. However, a few weeks after their departure, the governorate was fiercely invaded by insects and rodents. Headlines of local newspapers were received with much sarcasm by the Suez inhabitants when they reported the import of large numbers of owls to feed on what the late crows, victims of the Saudi hunting campaign, used to eat.

The crow: offender and victim

Dr. Helal maintains that the killing of stray dogs or crows is a brutal practice. The crow is a sacred bird; it taught humans how to bury their dead in the ancient story of Cain and Abel. It is also one of the smartest living creatures and Helal thinks attacks are being greatly exaggerated. He argues that a crow would never attack unless in retaliation for aggression.

With regard to the legality of deliberately killing animals, lawyer Basant Mohammed says if the killing was not based on adequate evidence that it is necessary, it would be a violation of Article 45 of the Constitution, which provides that the State shall guarantee protection and development of urban landscapes. It will also preserve wild flora and fauna and fisheries through protecting the endangered species, and will guarantee humane treatment of animals, all according to the law.

Faris’ recovery

Dr. Mahmoud refuses to leave the hospital before seeing Faris released the following day and walking beside his mother. He said she would likely push little Faris back to work to make up for the previous day’s losses.