Shetland Islands Council is reminding the public not to pick up or touch dead or visibly sick birds that they may find, and to report them to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This reminder follows steps taken by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) last weekend to declare a 3 km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone around a poultry holding on Whalsay.
The Council’s Environmental Health officers are visiting the island today to assist APHA vets in identifying other poultry or captive birds in the area so that further control measures can be applied. This will involve protecting and isolating birds, restricting their movements, implementing biosecurity measures and appropriate record keeping.
The Protection Zone is that part of Shetland contained within a circle with a radius of 3 kilometres, centred on an area in the south west of Whalsay. More details of the Protection and Surveillance Order can be found online
In recent weeks, cases of Avian Influenza (‘Bird flu’) in Shetland’s wild bird population have been increasing. Social media posts have suggested further reports of wild birds affected in several locations. The public are advised not to touch or pick up any dead or visibly sick birds that they may find.
Anyone finding a single dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks), a single dead bird of prey, or five or more dead wild birds of any other species (including gulls) at the same place at the same time, should report them to the DEFRA GB telephone helpline: 03459 33 55 77
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said that avian influenza is primarily a disease of birds and the risk to the general public’s health is very low. The infection spreads from bird to bird by direct contact or through contaminated body fluids and faeces. It can also be spread by contaminated feed and water or by dirty vehicles, clothing and footwear.
The latest information on Avian Flu is available here