Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on how many (a) mallards and (b) other gamebirds of which species have been destroyed at rearing and release facilities due to (i) highly pathogenic avian influenza and (ii) which other notifiable diseases in each of the last five years.

Over the last five years highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed at seven premises (five in England, one in Scotland and one in Wales) where commercial gamebirds have been kept, out of a total of 411 premises were HPAI has been confirmed in poultry or other captive birds. Under avian influenza rules gamebird covers any pheasant, partridge, ptarmigan, grouse or moor game, black (or heath) game and ducks bred for shooting.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) holds records of how many poultry or other captive birds including kept gamebirds are culled for disease control purposes by Government. In addition, the outcome of veterinary investigations conducted by APHA at all sites where HPAI has been confirmed in kept birds including any cases in kept gamebirds are published on gov.uk in APHA’s outbreak epidemiology reports. These reports include information on the number and type of birds present at infected premises.