BERLIN // Pollution from a mushroom farm has killed hundreds of falcons on a breeding centre that sells primarily to Arab buyers, including many from the United Arab Emirates, the owner has claimed in a lawsuit.
Hans Jürgen Küspert, who runs the "Falcon Centre" in the German village of Helvesiek, has lost so many falcons in recent years that he moved the surviving ones to a breeding farm he has in Spain.
"First the birds get severe breathing difficulties, then they fall dead to the ground," the breeder told Der Spiegel, Germany's leading news magazine.
Tests revealed a green fungus in the lungs of virtually all the dead birds. Called Aspergillus fumigatus, it is commonly found in soil and compost heaps and is regarded as harmless to healthy humans.
Mr Küspert believes fungus spores emitted by a nearby mushroom farm have been killing his birds.
He confirmed to The National that he had filed a lawsuit against the farm.
"We aren't using this site at the moment and have transferred all our animals to Spain," he said. "We're having huge problems here which is why we have moved. We are still suing for damages here because we want to re-open the site once the neighbouring mushroom farm has been ordered to reduce its emissions."
Mr Küspert added that the falcons at his breeding operation in Spain did not have health problems. He declined to comment further, saying: "It could damage my business in the Emirates."
Falcon breeding is a lucrative business. The birds are popular in Arab countries, where they are regarded as symbols of freedom, pride and status.
Many of the hunting falcons in the UAE come from breeding farms in Germany and Austria. Clients pay an average of ?5,000 (Dh24,000) for a young bird.
Mr Küspert is claiming ?3.5 million in damage compensation from the mushroom business, Pilzgarten, which cultivates delicacies such as shiitake, king trumpet and pink oyster mushrooms on a damp substrate of wood chips that emits fungus spores, according to Der Spiegel.
To provide evidence for his lawsuit, he is storing some 600 dead falcons in a freezer where he used to keep food.
Pilzgarten has rejected Mr Küspert's accusations. It said in a statement on its website: "Pilzgarten does not generate emissions that are any more dangerous to humans or animals than any other forms of agricultural work."
The firm has suggested that there might be other factors harming the birds, such as stress, excessively dry air, a lack of vitamin A, poor air quality or unhygienic conditions.
Scientists have been measuring the level of fungus spores in the air on the falcon and mushroom farms as part of the lawsuit, but there has been no court ruling yet. Mr Küspert wants the mushroom firm to build hermetically sealed halls to stop the spores from escaping, but the company said that would cost too much.
The issue boils down to whether the spores are too harmful and constitute air pollution, or whether Mr Küspert's birds are too fragile to cope with their environment. The problem for Mr Küspert is that Germany does not have any specific laws governing the proximity of falcon breeding and mushroom growing.
Mr Küspert set up his business in 1990, before the mushroom farm opened next door. The 15-hectare falcon-breeding site is surrounded by barbed wire and monitored by surveillance cameras. It used to be on the itinerary of many an Arab sheik visiting Germany.
He began expanding heavily a decade ago, investing ?6.5 million in a showroom and guestrooms on the farm, but the birds began dying before his plans were finalized. He now runs his business from his second farm in the Pyrenees.
@Email:foreign.desk@thenational.ae
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Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
SPECS
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
Most%20polluted%20cities%20in%20the%20Middle%20East
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MOST%20POLLUTED%20COUNTRIES%20IN%20THE%20WORLD
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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