Question reference: S6W-09204
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 17 June 2022
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Current status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 June 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to address the impacts of avian influenza in wild seabird populations in (a) general and (b) relation to the bonxie, or great skua, in light of 60% of the species' global population being understood to breed in Scotland.
Answer
The 2021-22 season has seen the UK’s largest outbreak of avian influenza to date, which has affected commercial flocks of poultry and other captive birds as well as wild birds. While maintaining high levels of biosecurity among domestic flocks helps protect against disease, addressing the disease among wild birds, including our internationally important seabird colonies, can pose significant challenges.
The Scottish Government continues to work closely with a range of partner organisations to monitor and respond to the situation where action can be taken, recognising the importance of communication and coordination in preparedness and responses.
Avian influenza is a highly infectious disease, and while there is little that can be done to limit the spread within seabird colonies, action can be taken to reduce the risk of onward transmission from infected colonies to other locations, and to minimise additional stress on potentially infected birds. To that end, NatureScot has suspended all ringing research activities within seabird colonies for the remainder of the breeding season to mitigate these risks. Surveys of some seabird colonies are also ongoing to monitor bird numbers, and any mortality events.
Furthermore, the Scottish Government has published advice for local authorities, landowners, wildlife rescue centres and members of the public regarding reporting, collection and safe disposal of dead wild birds. We will keep our guidance under continuous review as the situation develops.
It is too soon to determine with any certainty the impact of the current outbreak on seabird populations. NatureScot, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, RSPB Scotland and BTO Scotland are working towards collating colony level data and identifying how these data can be analysed to offer information on population level impacts. However, some internationally important seabird colonies have clearly been affected by the current outbreak. Therefore, the developing Scottish Seabird Conservation Strategy is critical in ensuring that any actions identified are timely and effective to help optimise the conservation prospects of seabirds in Scotland from existing and emerging threats, including disease threats such as avian influenza.