Bird Flu Kills over 900 Seals, Sea Lions in South Brazil

File photo: Sea lions are seen on a street of Mar del Plata harbor during the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, in Mar del Plata, some 400 km south of Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP.
File photo: Sea lions are seen on a street of Mar del Plata harbor during the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, in Mar del Plata, some 400 km south of Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP.
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Bird Flu Kills over 900 Seals, Sea Lions in South Brazil

File photo: Sea lions are seen on a street of Mar del Plata harbor during the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, in Mar del Plata, some 400 km south of Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP.
File photo: Sea lions are seen on a street of Mar del Plata harbor during the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, in Mar del Plata, some 400 km south of Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP.

Nearly 1,000 seals and sea lions in southern Brazil have died from bird flu outbreaks, say authorities, who are scrambling to isolate the deadly virus from commercial poultry flocks.
The southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul has confirmed an unprecedented 942 sea mammal deaths following infection by the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which was reported for the first time ever in the South American country this year.
Oceanographer Silvina Botta, at the Rio Grande Federal University (FURG), said the carcasses have to be buried or incinerated as soon as possible to reduce the risk of contaminating humans or other animals.
Scientists have also found some sea mammals convulsing along local beaches, as the virus attacks their nervous system. Under government health regulations, animals have to be euthanized to spare "a very painful death," Botta said.
Since Brazil's first report of HPAI in wild birds in May, the Agriculture Ministry says preventive measures have avoided an outbreak on commercial poultry farms, which could trigger export bans against Brazil, the world's top chicken exporter.
But the virus has run rampant in other animal populations. In addition to the outbreaks among seabirds, seals and sea lions, authorities have collected samples of dead porpoises and penguins found on beaches, with no confirmed results yet.
Botta said the first diagnosis of HPAI-related sea mammal deaths in Rio Grande do Sul came in September, when unusual mortality rates caught scientists' attention. Three towns in the state still have active outbreaks.
She said the contagion among sea mammals appears to have started in Peru and then circled the South American continent, hitting wildlife in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and now Brazil.
Brazil's Agriculture Ministry reported 148 HPAI outbreaks in the country, mostly along the coast, declaring a health emergency to contain the disease, which it says "is not yet considered endemic in Brazil."
Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of farm animals in Europe and the United States.



Greece's 'Instagram Island' Santorini nears Saturation Point

Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
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Greece's 'Instagram Island' Santorini nears Saturation Point

Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP

One of the most enduring images of Greece's summer travel brand is the world-famous sunset on Santorini Island, framed by sea-blue church domes on a jagged cliff high above a volcanic caldera.
This scene has inspired millions of fridge magnets, posters, and souvenirs -- and now the queue to reach the viewing spot in the clifftop village of Oia can take more than 20 minutes, said AFP.
Santorini is a key stopover of the Greek cruise experience. But with parts of the island nearing saturation, officials are considering restrictions.
Of the record 32.7 million people who visited Greece last year, around 3.4 million, or one in 10, went to the island of just 15,500 residents.
"We need to set limits if we don't want to sink under overtourism," Santorini mayor Nikos Zorzos told AFP.
"There must not be a single extra bed... whether in the large hotels or Airbnb rentals."
As the sun set behind the horizon in Oia, thousands raised their phones to the sky to capture the moment, followed by scattered applause.
For canny entrepreneurs, the Cycladic island's famous sunset can be a cash cow.
One company advertised more than 50 "flying dresses", which have long flowing trains, for up to 370 euros ($401), on posters around Oia for anyone who wishes to "feel like a Greek goddess" or spruce up selfies.
'Respect Oia'
But elsewhere in Oia's narrow streets, residents have put up signs urging visitors to respect their home.
"RESPECT... It's your holiday... but it's our home," read a purple sign from the Save Oia group.
Shaped by a volcanic eruption 3,600 years ago, Santorini's landscape is "unique", the mayor said, and "should not be harmed by new infrastructure".
Around a fifth of the island is currently occupied by buildings.
At the edge of the cliff, a myriad of swimming pools and jacuzzis highlight Santorini is also a pricey destination.
In 2023, 800 cruise ships brought some 1.3 million passengers, according to the Hellenic Ports Association.
Cruise ships "do a lot of harm to the island", said Chantal Metakides, a Belgian resident of Santorini for 26 years.
"When there are eight or nine ships pumping out smoke, you can see the layer of pollution in the caldera," she said.
Cruise ship limits
In June, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis floated the possibility of capping cruise ship arrivals to Greece's most popular islands.
"I think we'll do it next year," he told Bloomberg, noting that Santorini and tourist magnet Mykonos "are clearly suffering".
"There are people spending a lot of money to be on Santorini and they don’t want the island to be swamped," said the pro-business conservative leader, who was re-elected to a second four-year term last year.
In an AFP interview, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni echoed this sentiment and said: "We must set quotas because it's impossible for an island such as Santorini... to have five cruise ships arriving at the same time."
Local officials have set a limit of 8,000 cruise boat passengers per day from next year.
But not all local operators agree.
Antonis Pagonis, head of Santorini's hoteliers association, believes better visitor flow management is part of the solution.
"It is not possible to have (on) a Monday, for example, 20 to 25,000 guests from the cruise ships, and the next day zero," he said.
Pagonis also argued that most of the congestion only affects parts of the island like the capital, Fira.
In the south of the island, the volcanic sand beaches are less crowded, even though it is high season in July.
'I'm in Türkiye
The modern tourism industry has also changed visitor behavior.
"I listened (to) people making a FaceTime call with the family, saying 'I'm in Türkiye," smiled tourist guide Kostas Sakavaras.
"They think that the church over there is a mosque because yesterday they were in Türkiye."
The veteran guide said the average tourist coming to the island has changed.
"Instagram has defined the way people choose the places to visit," he said, explaining everybody wants the perfect Instagram photo to confirm their expectations.