UK scientists in bird flu initiative
Leading scientists in the UK are to join forces in a major initiative in the battle against bird flu.
The avian influenza H5N1 virus that has gripped the UK, France and other parts of continental Europe has been one of the most devastating outbreaks in recent years. So much so that many shoots have either abandoned plans for the forthcoming season or severely curtailed them, as we have reported in Sporting Gun.
Now Defra has announced that it will oversee a consortium of British scientists who will work together in the hope of finding new ways to contain future outbreaks. The eight-strong consortium is headed by the world-leading research team at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and has received £1.5 million from the Biotechnology and Biosciences Research Council (BBSRC).
The current outbreak of bird flu has been the largest and longest ever experienced in the UK and involved the implementation of stringent measures, including compulsory indoor housing and isolating of infected premises.
France has been particularly badly affected by the outbreak, especially in the western regions of the Vendée and Loire-Atlantique. As a result, the export of eggs and poults, essential for British shoots, has been stopped. It is not only the shoots that suffer the economic consequences of this, but all the associated industries. The impact on the rural economy, and the livelihoods of many, is likely to be considerable, the Countryside Alliance said. Guns On Pegs, the online shooting site, has said a third of shoots could be cancelled and numbers are likely to be partridge at 30% of their norm and pheasants at 70%.
So the initiative announced by Defra will be welcome news, but it could well have come too late for many shoots this autumn and winter. That said, infection rates are down considerably and shooting organisations, including the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, have urged Defra to reduce the 90-day restriction on egg and poult imports to 30 days. It is only 30 days in Europe, a rule that was changed postBrexit, but the UK has not, so far, updated its own rules.
A spokesman for Defra said: “We are actively speaking with the European Commission about amending both our import and French export rules to facilitate trade from restricted zones. We will continue to support our game farming and shooting sectors and will be writing to them to update on progress being made to address the interruption to egg supplies.”
On the new initiative, Professor Melanie Welham, executive chair of BBSRC, said: “This new consortium will study the unprecedented avian influenza outbreak to better understand this latest strain and how to tackle it.”
Christine Middlemiss, the UK’s chief veterinary officer, said: “This new consortium will allow us to combine our expertise at a national level to increase the speed and quality of our research.”