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Posted: 13th April 2023

Avian flu report recommends long-term help for wild birds
“This is an important and timely piece of work to help protect Scotland’s vital seabird populations" – Prof Dan Haydon.
The report will help inform avian flu policy in Scotland.

A new report for the Scottish government has recommended that long-term conservation measures will be the most effective way to help wild bird species affected by avian influenza.

Published by NatureScot to support the work of Scotland’s Avian Flu Task Force, the report recommends the introduction of conservation measures for the species which are most susceptible to the virus, combined with enhanced disease surveillance, demographic monitoring and further research.

Possible short-term measures were deemed ineffective. Once the virus is present in wild bird populations, there is currently little that can be done to control it, the report found. Measures such as carcass removal or reducing human activity at affected sites do not seem to significantly reduce the impact of the disease on wild birds.

A lack of data makes it hard to estimate how many wild birds have been affected by avian flu in Scotland, but some species appear to have been hit far harder by the disease than others.

Numbers of Svaldbard barnacle geese declined dramatically in the winter of 2021/22 after the virus was found in the Solway Firth. It is estimated that one third of the migrating population, about 13,200 birds, died from the disease.

Other species of wild birds in Scotland that have been significantly affected include the Greenland barnacle geese, pink-footed geese, herring gulls and mute swans.

Alastair MacGugan, NatureScot wildlife manager, said: “Although there’s no silver bullet to solve this complicated dilemma, this report will be a great help as the Avian Influenza Task Force plan action to reduce the effect of avian flu on Scotland’s important populations of wild birds. This is an utmost priority for our partners and ourselves, as the geographic scale, range of species of wild birds affected, and severity of impacts may threaten the very survival of some species.”

The report was produced by a sub-group of NatureScot’s Scientific Advisory Committee, which included academics from the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the Roslin Institute.

Professor Dan Haydon, who chaired the sub-group, added: “This is an important and timely piece of work to help protect Scotland’s vital seabird populations. We were pleased to be able to collaborate with a range of experts and advise on the route we need to take to better understand this avian flu outbreak and help manage seabirds into the future.”



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