Farne Islands shut after avian flu kills thousands of birds

BIRD flu has killed thousands on one of the UK’S most important habitats in an “unprecedented wildlife tragedy”.

Rangers on the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast have donned protective suits and collected more than 3,000 carcasses for incineration.

Authorities said the total figure could run into the tens of thousands, depending on the extent of the contagion.

The Farnes, cared for by the National Trust, provide an internationallyrenowned habitat for 200,000 birds, with 23 species, including puffins.

Rangers living on the islands within the archipelago have had to wear “full hazmat suits”, said Gwen Potter, a National Trust countryside manager. This includes rubber wellies, the right gloves, and if they get “very close to the birds, a mask and goggles as well”.

Ms Potter said the true figure will be “far higher”, as there are “birds we can’t get to”, such as those who died on cliffs.

“Dead birds are turning up on beaches around the North East,” she added. Cliff-nesters appear worstaffected, with guillemots, kittiwakes and young puffins, known as pufflings, among those found dead.

Ms Potter added that around 25 per cent of the island’s sandwich terns have been affected, most of whom will die. Annually, 45,000 people visit the Farnes but the islands were closed to visitors at the start of this month.

Ms Potter said there was no knowing when the outbreak would be resolved and visitors could return. “While the disease remains endemic across the UK it remains a lot trickier to predict,” she said.

Simon Lee, Farnes’ general manager, said the National Trust closed the islands in part to protect visitors from an “unprecedented wildlife tragedy”. But the risk to humans is considered very low and people are rarely affected.

The “main reason” for the closure is to avoid the birds being disturbed, which causes them to “use up their energy” by moving around, making them “less resilient to disease” and more likely to spread it, Ms Potter said.

Ms Potter said if the island were to readmit visitors before the outbreak is contained, some places may ask them to “clean their feet with disinfectant”.