Number of birds that have tested positive for Avian Influenza HPAI H5: EIR release

Information requested

• Under FOI can you advise how many wild birds they have tested for AI with a breakdown of group i.e. raptors/wildfowl/game/wader/passerine etc.
• Also can you advise how many have tested positive.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

As at 25 May 2022, the number of dead wild bird findings in Scotland since 27 October 2021, collected and submitted to the Animal and Plant Health Agency, for testing under the GB dead wild bird surveillance scheme is 550 birds. Please also see in the table below the total number, and order breakdown of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 positive wild birds from Scotland this outbreak season (Oct 2021-25 May 2022).

Order (description)	Number of HPAI H5 positive wild birds
Anseriformes (waterfowl)	252
Accipitriformes (birds of prey and raptors, excluding falcons)	74
Charadriiformes (shorebirds, e.g. waders, gulls, auks)	22
Passeriformes (perching birds, songbirds)	2
Suliformes (seabirds, e.g. gannets, cormorants, boobies, frigate birds)	2
Columbiformes (pigeons, doves)	1
Falconiformes (including falcons, birds of prey, raptors)	1
GRAND TOTAL (HPAI H5 positive)	354

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