The most well-known strain of Avian Influenza (often referred to as Bird Flu) is H5N1. It is similar to human flu but is caused by strains of influenza viruses adapted specifically to birds.
While the risk to people is low, humans can become infected via close contact with infected birds. As such, direct contact with birds should be avoided. If you find a dead bird in a location where you feel it is necessary to move the carcass (for example a busy path, in your garden, or on a beach where your dog exercises) be careful, observing good hygiene practices. Wear disposable gloves; if these are not available you can use a plastic bag. Also, Bird Flu has now been found in a few species of British mammals including seals and otters, therefore direct contact between birds and your pet cats and dogs should be avoided.
Last year, we assisted the community by collecting bird carcasses or moribund (nearly dead) birds from beaches, pathways, pavements and farms. Most of the 150 bird carcasses collected were gannets. We sent some of the carcasses to laboratories to confirm Bird Flu; this provided important data to government virologists, and we worked with partners to incinerate other carcasses.
The process of collecting these was very time-consuming and expensive. The effort included island-hopping logistics, full personal protective equipment (PPE) and long days, plus it was a very sad time for the community, visitors, and for our staff - indeed, everyone who cares about seabirds.
Each time I collected a dead gannet carcass, I marvelled at the morphology of the bird. The gannet is the UK’s largest breeding seabird, with the ability to draw those wings back into an arrow and dive at speeds of 65km/hr to catch fish. They are true masters of the ocean and should have lived for 20 years or more. But their demise was due to a novel virus born from battery-reared chickens; the virus originated in Asia and spread across the globe, jumping the avian species barrier, and finding its way to the North Atlantic Ocean.
This year, as spring bird migration is upon us, the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust regretfully cannot continue carcass collection. We felt it was important in summer 2022 to first of all confirm the presence of Bird Flu on Scilly, secondly to try and prevent infected carcasses from impacting on our breeding seabird and land bird colonies, and also try to protect people’s pets, health and poultry.
We now know the Bird Flu pandemic is even worse than expected, and there seems to be little of chance of preventing it becoming embedded in our seabird populations. Given that, we no longer believe that removing the bodies will make a big difference. We know that our limited time and resources can be better directed for conservation. We are a small team managing half of the land across Scilly, and it isn’t feasible or pragmatic for us to continue at the rate we were last summer and autumn. We need to focus on our enormous task of preserving, protecting and restoring Scilly’s amazing wildlife, and providing access for locals and visitors to explore these special landscapes. We will be concentrating on surveying and monitoring our breeding seabirds, which we will be doing as part of an island-wide survey.
