Only nine birds could be rescued in the bird wash and then released after the oil disaster in Blekinge last autumn, according to a new report.
The number of birds that died from the oil is unknown – but 25 different bird species were affected and met "a painful and slow death", according to the report.
The report was prepared by Sölvesborg Municipality on behalf of WWF, which financed the rescue operation, which also helped an otter, reports SVT News Blekinge.
Approximately 60,000 liters of heavy oil leaked from TT-Lines' ferry Marco Polo, which ran aground off Listerlandet in Blekinge.
In the report, the Coast Guard is criticized for shooting oil-damaged birds without using silencers. The consequence was that many injured birds were scared off and spread out over a much larger area.
It was an action we took with good intentions, but mercy killing of oil-damaged birds is something we do rarely and therefore there is room for improvement, says the Coast Guard's press officer Mattias Lindholm to SVT.
