Aberdeenshire Council removing hundreds of dead birds from coastlines
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Aberdeenshire Council has confirmed that it has removed hundreds of dead birds from beaches in Stonehaven and Cruden Bay as concerns for bird flu continue.
By Tuesday the local authority said 430 had been picked up at Stonehaven while 126 were recovered from Cruden Bay.
Avian flu was declared at Inchdrewer Farm near Banff on Monday with the Scottish Government introducing a 3km Protection Zone and 10km Surveillance Zone.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said: “Our teams have been closely monitoring the number of deaths in the bird population over recent days across the region.
"We have activated our strategy to begin removing carcasses from our shoreline.
“The council has finite resources, but we will look to remove large concentrations of birds from popular areas of highest footfall.
"People should be aware, however, that there will inevitably be more birds washed ashore with each tide so beaches may not be cleared entirely.
“We work closely with APHA whose general advice is to leave dead or sick birds in situ where natural processes will result in the breakdown of the carcasses.
"The risk of catching avian influenza from dead or dying birds is extremely low, however due to other diseases such as salmonella which wild birds can carry, the advice is to leave the birds in-situ.
“Keep pets and children away from any dead or sick birds and don't touch wild bird feathers or surfaces contaminated with droppings.”
Residents can report where there are more than 10 dead birds in an area via the council’s online form on the avian flu webpage at www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/environment/animal-health/dead-birds
At this time of year, a large number of seabirds migrate to the north-east of Scotland to feed and breed.
Avian influenza is endemic within wild bird populations, and this is having a significant impact on seabirds.
This is resulting in an unusually high number of dead or dying birds being washed up on beaches.
In Great Britain, if people find a single dead bird of prey, swan, goose, duck or gull or five or more dead wild birds of any other species at the same time, they should report them to www.gov.uk/guidance/report-dead-wild-birds
Visit www.gov.scot/publications/avian-influenza-bird-flu for further advice on avian influenza which includes information on how to dispose of a dead bird on a private property.
