Aberdeenshire: More than 1,000 seabirds dead in suspected avian flu outbreak in Scotland

Members of the public trying to assist in the clean-up of more than a thousand dead birds amid a suspected avian flu outbreak are being advised not to bury or bin their carcasses.

The safety guidance comes after around 1,040 dead seabirds were removed from the Aberdeenshire coast over the past few days.

The council’s landscape services staff have so far collected 520 dead birds from Stonehaven Beach, 120 from Cruden Bay, more than 150 from Balmedie Beach, and 250 from Inverbervie Beach.

An Aberdeenshire Council spokesperson said: “A year on from the previous outbreak, our frontline crews have been kitted out in full PPE to carry out the safe removal of hundreds of birds which, it is suspected, carry avian influenza, and we thank them for all their efforts once again.

“Our thanks also go to a number of our own staff from various services who have come forward and volunteered to assist with future collections as and when required.

“We have heard reports of people trying to assist in the clean-up by burying or binning bird carcasses, but please – for your own safety – leave the disposal to us.”

Testing is currently being carried out to determine the exact cause of death as Scotland’s avian flu taskforce remains on “high alert”.

NatureScot previously reported that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) had been confirmed in sandwich tern, common tern, kittiwake, herring gull, black-headed gull and guillemot birds so far this year.

At Forvie National Nature Reserve, more than 200 sandwich terns have died from bird flu. Signs of the virus have also been spotted in common and arctic terns, with further test results awaited.

Kittiwakes have also tested positive for avian flu on the Isle of May National Nature Reserve in the Firth of Forth.

However, Scotland’s nature agency said the overall picture was “not yet clear” with tests on some birds in other parts of the country having come back negative.

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Wildlife manager Alastair MacGugan said testing is “key to unravelling” what is happening to the seabirds.

As the clean-up continues across Aberdeenshire, the local authority wished to thank all those who have been reporting sightings which has allowed teams to “quickly map out and prioritise removal of the birds”.

The spokesperson added: “We will be getting to all these areas just as soon as we can.

“Again, please be assured that our beaches are still safe to enjoy this summer and the threat of transmission to humans is very low.”