In February 2008, the Hong Kong government closed Mai Po for 21 days following the discovery of a
great egret infected with
H5N1, also known as
avian flu. The closing marked the fourth in as many years and was consistent with the government's policy of closing Mai Po whenever an infection is discovered within a 3 kilometer radius of the premises. The
World Wide Fund for Nature criticized the government, however, for what it called a discrepancy between the standards for closing Mai Po and the comparably less strict standards applied in urban areas. The
World Wide Fund for Nature wanted compensation of 1 million
Hong Kong dollars. WWF then claimed that the government had not compensated it for lost income. ==Education==