November 1, 2022

Scotland will not implement housing order amid bird flu outbreak in England

Sheila Voas, Scotland's chief veterinarian, said the country will not implement a housing order to keep all poultry and captive birds indoors as the evidence in Scotland does not currently justify a housing order, BBC News reported.

Voas said officials are keeping the situation under review.

From November 7,all poultry and captive birds in England must be kept indoors as the country copes with its worst bird flu outbreak in history.

Scotland has seen a total of four cases of bird flu this month, compared to 80 in England. The cases discovered in Orkney and Aberdeenshire are included in the Scottish total.

Voas said in an interview that they are monitoring the situation, but don't believe there is enough evidence at this time to mandate mandatory housing in this area.

She said they are monitoring a number of cases and the wild bird results that are coming in, and if the situation significantly changes, they may decide to proceed with a housing order as well.

She believes that all breeders should be concerned and exercise all due caution to protect their flocks, adding that keeping birds indoors shouldn't be considered a "magic cure" for bird flu, and other precautions like keeping food and bedding away from wild birds are also effective.

An organisation run by the Scottish government called NatureScot announced in July that it was forming a taskforce to deal with bird flu.

The action was taken in response to outbreaks among wild bird populations near Scotland's coast in the spring and summer.

-      BBC News