Imminent bird flu will be controlled (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Imminent bird flu will be controlled

AVIAN experts in the Cotswolds say there is no need to worry about the imminent threat of bird flu.

As dead swans found in the UK at the beginning of the week were cleared of carrying the deadly H5N1 virus, the district's farmers and wildlife watchers are saying the threat is minimal.

Dr Simon Pickering from the Cotswold Water Park Society said staff and birdwatchers at the park were being asked to be extra vigilant.

He said: "We are advising bird watchers to look for any dead birds and to ring the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) if they find one. As far as we know there have been no birds with avian flu found in this country."

Dr Pickering added most birds spending the winter months in the UK were beginning to head back to Europe with few coming the other way.

Although the Government and Defra have both faced criticism from farmers and bird experts over their response to the threat of bird flu local reaction has been positive.

National Farmers Union poultry expert Charles Bourns, a farmer from Chalford who has more than 75,000 chickens, said he was pleased with Defra's response.

He said: "I got seven text messages from Defra on Friday. They told me about the duck in France and the phone lines to call if I'm worried about any birds. They've got their act together from that point of view."

Dr Pickering said: "They have given sufficient advice when birds have been reported they have acted but we are not dealing with chickens or farming."

Mr Bourns said farmers were maintaining a watching brief.

He said: "At the moment we are just waiting. As far as vaccinations go I don't think it is for me to talk about. It's up to the vets. We have just got to keep in touch with them and keep the barn security up."

Simon Blackwell from Birdland in Bourton-on-the-Water said precautions had been put in place.

He said: "All birds can get it so everything has to be considered which is what we did a long time ago. We have got isolation areas, which we don't want to have to use, for things like the penguins. We are just waiting for Defra to finalise what the procedures will be."

"The problem with vaccinations is it hides the disease so you have birds which are carriers that have been vaccinated. We have had bird flu in is country before and we will have it again.

"The panic is because people are still trying to relate it to the human form that has not been confirmed outside of Asia."

Anyone who finds a dead bird and is concerned should contact the Defra hotline on 0845 933 5577.