Development & Aid, Environment, Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – CHILE: Award for Swan Defenders

SANTIAGO, Dec 19 2005 (IPS) - The organization Acción por los Cisnes (Action for the Swans) won the prize for best defender of animals, awarded annually by the Chilean Federation of Animal Protection Institutions.

“Thanks to the efforst of its members, (Action for the Swans) ensured that the deaths of the black-necked swans (Cygnus malencoriphus) in the Cruces River achieved national prominence” in Chile, César Sánchez, head of the federation, told Tierramérica.

The organization was formed in 2004 after a massive die-off of the swans and other species was reported in a nature sanctuary in Valdivia province, 840 km south of the capital.

The wetlands had been contaminated by run-off from a pulp mill owned by the Anacleto Angelini group, which was fined and shut down several times this year, but finally reopened under the condition that it had to build a channel to direct its wastewater to the Pacific Ocean.