Game Shots, keepers and wildfowlers have all been warned to keep a close lookout for avian influenza, also known as bird flu, as the winter approaches.
The two most common forms of avian flu, H5N8 and H5N6, are not currently believed to be a serious threat to human health, except for those in regular close contact with birds.
However, other forms of bird flu are transmissible to humans and all forms pose a very serious risk to the poultry and game farming industries.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is the more serious type. It is often fatal in birds, in which the main symptoms are a swollen head, blue discolouration of neck and throat, loss of appetite, respiratory distress such as gaping beak, coughing, sneezing, gurgling, rattling, diarrhoea, fewer eggs laid…
