Theresa42
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Latest on avian influenza – Swan DNA result
April 11, 2006
The bird in which H5N1 avian influenza was confirmed on 6 April in Scotland has been identified as a Whooper swan by DNA 'fingerprinting' at the Central Science Laboratory.
The UK's Chief Veterinary Officers (CVOs) have made a joint statement about the DNA results.
In a separate development, Defra's Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds has written an open letter in response to concerns about the way birds would be killed to help control avian influenza.
In the letter, she stresses that all killing of birds for disease control purposes would be done by competent, trained operators working to standard operating procedures and acting under veterinary supervision.
The Cellardyke swan is the first highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza case detected in a wild bird in the British Isles.
The Scottish Executive have established a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone. A wider Wild Bird Risk Area has been defined to include significant populations of wild birds in the immediate area and to give clear boundaries. It is a requirement that poultry in this area be housed.
We continue to urge members of the public to report findings of dead birds to the Defra Helpline. Defra's wild bird surveillance programme will continue in the Wild Bird Risk Area and across GB. There will be no immediate change to the measures we have put in place.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2006/animal-0411.htm
Whooper swan
Cygnus cygnus
The whooper swan is a large white swan, bigger than a Bewick's swan. It has a long thin neck, which it usually holds erect, and black legs. Its black bill has a large triangular patch of yellow on it. It is mainly a winter visitor to the UK from Iceland, although a couple of pairs nest in the north. The estuaries and wetlands it visits on migration and for winter roosts need protection. Its winter population and small breeding numbers make it an Amber List species.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/w/whooperswan/index.asp
Whooper Swan
Whooper Swans breed in subarctic Eurasia, further south than Bewick's in the taiga zone. They are migratory wintering in northern Europe and eastern Asia. They are rare breeders in northern Scotland, particularly in the Orkney Isles, but no more than five pairs have bred in recent years. This bird is an occasional vagrant to western North America.
Icelandic breeders overwinter in England and Ireland, especially in the wildfowl nature reserves of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whooper_swan
April 11, 2006
The bird in which H5N1 avian influenza was confirmed on 6 April in Scotland has been identified as a Whooper swan by DNA 'fingerprinting' at the Central Science Laboratory.
The UK's Chief Veterinary Officers (CVOs) have made a joint statement about the DNA results.
In a separate development, Defra's Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds has written an open letter in response to concerns about the way birds would be killed to help control avian influenza.
In the letter, she stresses that all killing of birds for disease control purposes would be done by competent, trained operators working to standard operating procedures and acting under veterinary supervision.
The Cellardyke swan is the first highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza case detected in a wild bird in the British Isles.
The Scottish Executive have established a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone. A wider Wild Bird Risk Area has been defined to include significant populations of wild birds in the immediate area and to give clear boundaries. It is a requirement that poultry in this area be housed.
We continue to urge members of the public to report findings of dead birds to the Defra Helpline. Defra's wild bird surveillance programme will continue in the Wild Bird Risk Area and across GB. There will be no immediate change to the measures we have put in place.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2006/animal-0411.htm
Whooper swan
Cygnus cygnus
The whooper swan is a large white swan, bigger than a Bewick's swan. It has a long thin neck, which it usually holds erect, and black legs. Its black bill has a large triangular patch of yellow on it. It is mainly a winter visitor to the UK from Iceland, although a couple of pairs nest in the north. The estuaries and wetlands it visits on migration and for winter roosts need protection. Its winter population and small breeding numbers make it an Amber List species.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/w/whooperswan/index.asp
Whooper Swan
Whooper Swans breed in subarctic Eurasia, further south than Bewick's in the taiga zone. They are migratory wintering in northern Europe and eastern Asia. They are rare breeders in northern Scotland, particularly in the Orkney Isles, but no more than five pairs have bred in recent years. This bird is an occasional vagrant to western North America.
Icelandic breeders overwinter in England and Ireland, especially in the wildfowl nature reserves of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whooper_swan