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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of avian flu on the colony of gannets on Bass Rock near North Berwick, and the resulting loss of population.

We recognise the significant threat posed by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to the UK’s seabird populations and it is deeply concerning to see the impact this is having on these important species.

Details of findings of HPAI in wild birds in Great Britain are updated weekly and published via GOV.UK/Bird-Flu, together with outbreak and risk assessments. These reports include the recent mortalities of gannets on Bass Rock. Defra is working with Devolved Administrations, Arm’s Length Bodies and NGOs to monitor and respond to the effect of HPAI on wild birds. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) operate a robust programme of wild bird surveillance and carry out year-round HPAI surveillance of dead wild birds from across Great Britain.

While HPAI viruses are predominantly considered a pathogen of birds, the virus can infect mammals. While there is no routine surveillance for HPAI in seals, causes of death of stranded marine mammals are monitored and investigated through the Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme. Where appropriate, stranded seals are tested for avian influenza in collaboration with the APHA avian influenza National Reference Laboratory. While the scale of HPAI findings in seabirds during the 2021/2022 avian influenza outbreak have been unprecedented, to date there is no evidence of increased mortality in UK seal populations or an increase in clinical cases brought into wildlife rehabilitation centres.