The RSPB have called for the
UK Government to ban the release of millions of gamebirds to prevent the UK’s
wild birds being wiped out by a catastrophic avian bird flu epidemic this
winter.
The RSPB have said there is a
significant risk that pheasants, partridge and ducks released for shooting
from 1 October could spread avian bird flu into wild bird
populations, wreaking havoc in farmland, woodland and garden birds.
It has added that it is surprised that
the UK government appears to have undertaken no risk assessments at all for a major
outbreak erupting in gamebirds and it has urged DEFRA to impose an immediate
moratorium on their release this year.
The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of
the avian bird flu virus, which began spreading last winter in the UK, has already devastated many
seabird and goose populations around the country.
Each year around 61 million pheasants, partridge and ducks are bred in commercial facilities, mainly in France, before being released into the countryside to be shot by country sports enthusiasts from 1 October. Calculations vary but it is estimated that in August each year, the volume of gamebirds being reared for shooting in the UK is equal to half the biomass of all the UK’s wild birds.
The virus has already been detected in
wild and farmed pheasants in England, Wales and Scotland since early 2021.
In France, where most of the UK’s
gamebirds are bred, the Government has imposed controls on the transport of
chicks in regions heavily affected by the virus.
Jeff Knott, the Director of Policy at the RSPB, has said that there
is an overriding need to take precautionary measures. If the virus catches hold
in commercial shoots and then spreads into the wider environment, it would then
be too late. He said that the reason the RSPB is calling for this
now is that the effects of doing nothing could be absolutely catastrophic since
the virus can spread incredibly quickly and easily.
Not unexpectedly, not least given their total state of unreadiness for the spread of Covid-19, senior Government so-called wildlife experts are sceptical about the case presented by the RSPB. They argue that so far there is too little evidence to substantiate its demands. Even so, DEFRA is regarded by other regulators as having dragged its feet in its response to the avian bird flu catastrophe.
Bird Flu is still a major threat to wild birds. RSPB Scotland's Duncan Orr Ewing has the latest news and explains the RSPB's call for a moratorium on gamebird releases. Find out more at https://t.co/kGSYM0WIMk
— RSPB Scotland (@RSPBScotland) August 11, 2022
Warning - This video contains images of dead birds pic.twitter.com/miIJ1AMh0H
Blinded and grounded by a disease it can't possibly understand, a Gannet today in #Shetland responding to what it can hear, the sound of the sea. If only @DefraGovUK cared to listen too. The scale and extent of wild bird deaths from avian flu in the UK is colossal this year. pic.twitter.com/DuaISS6QOr
— Jon Dunn 🇺🇦 (@dunnjons) August 12, 2022
Slava Ukraini! …. Glory to Ukraine!
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
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