Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Around 230,000 birds killed in Aberdeenshire due to avian flu just weeks before Christmas

There have been six large scale outbreaks across Aberdeenshire in the last few weeks.
There have been six large scale outbreaks across Aberdeenshire in the last few weeks.

Around 230,000 birds have been killed following six large outbreaks of avian flu in Aberdeenshire, it has been revealed.

An outbreak of bird flu has been reported at the Mains of Auchenbadie in Alvah near Banff, affecting 48,000 free-range laying hens.

This now means there have been six large outbreaks at poultry farms across the region – more than any other area in Scotland.

There have been around 230,000 birds killed following these large-scale outbreaks according to Scotland’s chief veterinary officer Sheila Voas.

Aberdeenshire poultry keepers are being urged to step up efforts in fighting against bird flu. Image: Steve MacDougall / DCT Media

Smaller cases, such as incidents in areas including the Fyvie Castle estate, are also on the rise.

Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid organised a meeting with Ms Voas to express his concerns about the outbreaks in the run-up to Christmas.

He said: “These outbreaks, according to the chief vet, have taken place after the poultry farmer has housed his flock and there are no concerns over their management practices.

David Duguid MP.

“We also spoke about the smaller cases which are going under the radar and the biosecurity measures which can be implemented to help curb these going forward.

“Many businesses in Banff and Buchan which depend on the winter market have been left in an extremely worrying situation just weeks before Christmas.

“This is why it’s vital the Scottish Government now works with the rest of the UK as well as organisations like NFU Scotland to ensure our area has the right measures in place to keep these cases to a minimum this winter.”

‘Situation under constant review’

The Scottish Government is taking the issue of bird flu “very seriously” and is keeping the situation under review, discussing options like housing orders.

Turkey farmers are putting their flocks inside to ward off bird flu. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

A spokesman said: “We are taking the issue of avian influenza very seriously and are keeping the situation under constant review.

“While options such as housing orders of flocks are considered, the current evidence does not yet justify imposing a housing order in Scotland and all cases of the disease in domestic flocks since November have taken place where the birds have already been housed.

“Practicing high levels of biosecurity is a key component in protecting domestic poultry flocks and we would urge stakeholders to join us in promoting this important message.”

Advice on how to spot and report bird flu can be found on the Scottish Government website.