Bird flu now confirmed in a wild bird the UK

[Cobra]

The dangerous H5N8 bird flu strain has been found in poultry and wild birds in 14 European countries.
It is the same severe strain to have hit a turkey farm in Lincolnshire last week - when 5,000 birds have died or are about to be culled.

And now, The first case of bird flu in a wild bird in the UK has been confirmed.
It was discovered at an estuary near the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT) Llanelli Wetland Centre in Carmarthenshire.

Source

 

[BillN_33]

that's not good

 

[den]

The dangerous H5N8 bird flu strain has been found in poultry and wild birds in 14 European countries.
It is the same severe strain to have hit a turkey farm in Lincolnshire last week - when 5,000 birds have died or are about to be culled.

And now, The first case of bird flu in a wild bird in the UK has been confirmed.
It was discovered at an estuary near the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT) Llanelli Wetland Centre in Carmarthenshire.

Source

Mike and i were parked outside a affected farm yesterday ,without knowing,we were parked up looking for a Barn owl when we were asked to move on ,obviously we didnt know when we parked up ,but not good at all

 

[gramps]

That's really bad news, though probably expected bearing in mind the number of species migrating around this time.

Important notice
WWT Llanelli Wetland Centre temporarily closed
WWT Llanelli Wetland Centre has closed today as a precautionary measure, following the finding of a dead wild duck next to the estuary with H5N8 avian influenza, or ‘bird flu’.

This is a concern for local birds – not humans. This is not a strain of bird flu that has ever transferred to people.

The finding is not unexpected as the disease has already been found across Europe. Like other organisations across the country, we have been keeping a close eye out for any signs of the disease in birds this winter.
We will remain closed while we increase surveillance among wild birds on our reserve and our collection of zoo birds, and put in place any measures necessary to help protect them. We can’t speculate yet as to which day we might reopen.
We would like to thank our visitors and members for their patience and understanding, especially those who were looking forward to a Christmastime day out.
We invite any visitors with concerns or needing to rebook activities to email us at info.llanelli@wwt.org.uk. We will reply as soon as we can, once we have taken all the measures necessary to protect birds at the wetland centre.

Thank you again for your patience. We wish a happy Christmas to all our visitors and supporters.

 

[Cobra]

Mike and i were parked outside a affected farm yesterday ,without knowing,we were parked up looking for a Barn owl when we were asked to move on ,obviously we didnt know when we parked up ,but not good at all

I knew about the possibillity, around the 5th of this month, ( at that time it was unconfirmed) but if it wasn't for the fact that I fly BoP's We, (falconers) were advised to "ground" our birds at this time,
by DEFRA, I'd certainly not known about it either,

Though probably expected bearing in mind the number of species migrating around this time.

Absolutely Roger, that was the advice / reason I was given, once it was confirmed in Europe.

 

[Harlequin565]

I had to take 2 days off back at the beginning of the month to box our chickens in. Was hoping to see lifted restrictions on 6th Jan, but it sounds like it could go on longer.

 

[Cobra]

Was hoping to see lifted restrictions on 6th Jan,

As you know, that was the initial advice, "quarantine" just in case, but that was before it was confirmed in the UK.
With it being confirmed in 14 other countries, as well, it could be quite sometime unfortunately.

 

[gramps]

Another infected Wigeon confirmed in Somerset and a Peregrine in Scotland according to Sky News ... so that's England, Scotland & Wales

 

[desf]

I knew about the possibillity, around the 5th of this month, ( at that time it was unconfirmed) but if it wasn't for the fact that I fly BoP's We, (falconers) were advised to "ground" our birds at this time,
by DEFRA, I'd certainly not known about it either

It was in the news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38231416 but didn't seem to get a lot of coverage.

Sad news indeed.

 

[Cobra]

Another infected Wigeon confirmed in Somerset and a Peregrine in Scotland according to Sky News ... so that's England, Scotland & Wales

Oh Crap

but didn't seem to get a lot of coverage.

Agreed, I wonder how many people with "free range" chickens, in their garden / back yard etc, actually know about this ?

 

[Tringa]

Another wild bird with H5N8 reported today - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-38421831

Dave

 

[Gaz J]

Llanelli Wetland Centre has now reopened.

 

[gramps]

I noticed boot disinfectant in use at Slimbridge on Friday, no cases there as yet but sensible precaution.