Question reference: S6W-09329
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 24 June 2022
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Current status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 July 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the avian flu outbreak, what consideration it has given to the culling of wild geese.
Answer
The Scottish Government is not currently considering culling wild birds where Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is detected, as this would not be a practical or proportionate method of impact mitigation.
Current advice to all keepers of poultry and other captive bird keepers is that the enhanced biosecurity requirements that were brought in as part of the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone in November 2021, remain in force, as infection continues to circulate in the environment. Keepers are advised to maintain scrupulous biosecurity standards and to continue applying such standards as best practice. These practices include the cleansing and disinfection of equipment, vehicles and footwear and the storing of feed, water and bedding to minimise the risk of virus contamination from wild birds.
In Autumn 2021, NatureScot suspended all licences to shoot Svalbard barnacle geese in the Solway area in light of the HPAI outbreak.
In February 2022, when HPAI was confirmed within the Greenland barnacle goose population, NatureScot suspended licences to shoot Greenland barnacle geese on Islay and on Uist. These licences had been issued to prevent serious agricultural damage.
NatureScot will review whether similar arrangements are required when geese and other waterfowl populations return to their wintering grounds. If culling licences to prevent agricultural damage are suspended in the autumn then alternative support for land managers and owners will be considered.