What’s new?
13 April 2006
Avian Influenza
The Wildlife Trusts' position - and what to do if you find a dead bird
The Wildlife Trusts are concerned that the recent UK occurrence of avian influenza (H5N1) in Scotland could result in the knee-jerk reaction of culling wild migratory birds. Culling wild birds will not provide a comprehensive control against the disease and could result in dispersing infected birds more widely, as well as diverting resources away from important disease control mechanisms.
The Wildlife Trusts believe that our response to avian influenza should be greater biosecurity including surveillance in at-risk areas, such as poultry farms, and strict disease control measures to deal with any outbreak.
The Wildlife Trusts and its extensive volunteer network will be making every effort to follow Defra's health and safety advice (www.defra.gov.uk) in all our work with wild birds, and will be assisting with surveillance operations by monitoring bird populations for signs of infection.
The Wildlife Trusts are supporting the most up to date joint statement from British Trust for Ornithology, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) statement at 4 November 2005, along with current advice for birdwatchers. Updates are available on the JNCC website.