The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Final isle visits as birds move into flu lockdown
Day trippers to the Isle of May in the Forth have backed the decision to close the island amid the current bird flu outbreak.
The birds on the island off the coast of Fife go into lockdown tomorrow.
“I think they’re absolutely doing the right thing,” says Pinky Agnew.
“As a New Zealander, we go hard and we go early. That’s what we did with Covid.”
Pinky, 66, from Wellington, is on holiday in Scotland.
She is among the last visitors allowed on to the Isle of May before the restrictions.
NatureScot is closing the isle to visitors in a bid to prevent the outbreak of a strain of H5N1 bird flu, which has devastated the gannet colony on the nearby Bass Rock.
Bird flu is devastating colonies across Scotland in what conservationists at the RSPB have described as an “unprecedented outbreak”.
Pinky’s friend Pat Stevenson, of South Queensferry, also took the trip on the May Princess from Anstruther.
“We feel very fortunate to be among the last people to visit the island,” says Pat.
“It was an absolute delight, the whole thing.
“It’s very sad, this business with avian flu.
“But we totally understand their decision to protect the birds.”
At Anstruther, in Fife’s East Neuk, boat trips to the isle draw visitors from around the world.
They are fully booked during summer months.
Tour operators Osprey of Anstruther and Anstruther Pleasure Cruises, who run the May Princess, are still taking people around the island by boat.
Rab Deas, who runs Osprey of Anstruther boat tours, is urging those who have booked tours not to cancel.
He said: “You’ll see thousands of birds.
“Everything is in the water just now to feed their young.
“So what’s on the island is in the water.” He says the closure of the island is having a “massive” effect on his business, adding: “The repercussions for us and the Princess are big.”
NatureScot is closing the isle as a precaution to protect its colonies from the same fate as the gannets on Bass Rock.
Gannets from the Bass Rock colony have been found dead on beaches up and down the east coast of Scotland.
Audrey and Pete Watson are still keen to try out a boat trip.
Pete, 56, of Leven, said: “I’d still go on the boat. I understand why they wouldn’t want us to go on the island.”
Bill and Ellen Stangroom are touring around Scotland, having flown in from Boston.
Ellen said: “If you’re coming here to go on the boat, you’re going to go on it regardless.
“You also want to support local people who are making their living from these trips.”