Scottish plan to kill birds unveiled as virus spreads

Key points

• The Executive has revealed its plans to combat a bird flu outbreak

• Emergency vaccination would not be an alternative to culling

• A strain of the bird flu virus has been confirmed on the Greek Island of Oinouses

Key quote

"Incineration, rendering or landfill of carcasses will be the preferred hierarchy of disposal method and any decision will be made on the basis of appropriate veterinary and other professional advice," Executive document

Story in full BIRDS in Scotland would be killed by gassing, injection and electrocution if the avian flu virus arrives here, the Executive has revealed.

The grim details were contained in a 67-page document outlining how Scotland would respond to an outbreak north of the Border.

The plan was published yesterday as Greece became the latest European country to report a case of bird flu, as the virus continued its spread across the Continent.

A strain of the virus was confirmed on the Aegean island of Oinouses while urgent tests are still being carried out on dead birds found in Croatia and Bulgaria. Twelve swans have also tested positive for bird flu in a second cluster in Romania.

British scientists have warned that the human death toll - reckoned to be 60 people so far - could have been underestimated. Experts from the Medical Research Council, who are set to visit south-east Asia, said other cases may have gone undetected in the region and the figure could be "just the tip of the iceberg".

In Scotland, an area with a minimum six-mile radius would be cordoned off around an infected premises, the document says.

This area would be subdivided into a "protection zone", with a radius of two miles around the infected premises, surrounded by a four-mile "surveillance zone".

A national disease control centre would be set up by the State Veterinary Service to co-ordinate disease control across Britain, and liaison officers from Scotland would be based there to ensure good communication.

The main principles of the plan are that flocks on infected premises would be slaughtered, an EU requirement.

Movement restrictions would be placed on poultry, eggs, manure and used bedding litter in infected areas.

Captive birds - other than poultry or racing pigeons - would not be subject to specific control measures, but owners within an infected area would be required to report any sicknesses and deaths.

On laboratory confirmation of an outbreak of bird flu, restrictions on movement of poultry outside the zones may also be introduced.

In the immediate response to a disease outbreak in Scotland, a local disease control centre would be established, and a regional operations director appointed.

"Incineration, rendering or landfill of carcasses will be the preferred hierarchy of disposal method and any decision will be made on the basis of appropriate veterinary and other professional advice," said the document.

Emergency vaccination would be considered alongside other measures, but would not be an alternative to culling.

Meanwhile, amid growing concern that the British government is ill-prepared for bird flu, officials insisted they took the threat "very seriously", with 1.2 million courses of antiviral Tamiflu ordered for Scotland.

Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, told the House of Commons that outbreaks of bird flu pose "no direct threat" to people in the UK.

"This is a bird disease," she insisted. "There is no reason for people to stop eating poultry."