The islands of Farne live in a chaotic situation. A “unprecedented tragedy for wildlife” according to Guardian. Indeed, the birds that inhabit the archipelago are affected by an epidemic of avian flu. Thousands of carcasses have been collected from this habitat which is one of the largest in the UK.
Maintained by the National Trust, the islands provide internationally important habitat for 23 species. As written by Guardian :
“The Farne Islands are a nature reserve and home to around 20,000 seabirds including guillemots, gulls, razorbills, cormorants, arctic terns and puffins.”
Also according to the British newspaper, the rangers working in the area, equipped with protective suits, counted more than 3,000 dead animals. However, “they fear that several thousand more birds have succumbed to this disease and fallen from the cliffs into the North Sea”.
Objective: stem the epidemic
So that the epidemic does not spread, and so as not to put the populations at risk, the authorities have decided, for three weeks, to close the islands to visitors. the Guardian Explain : “authorities are trying to stem the spread of the disease during the birds’ breeding season”. Each year, the islands welcome nearly 45,000 tourists. But according to the authorities, the risk for humans of being contaminated remains low.
This strain of bird flu is thought to have originated in East Asia. If, this winter, it only affected domestic poultry, it seems to be spreading today among wild birds.
“The disease spreads when birds come into direct contact with an infected bird, droppings or bodily fluids, or indirectly through contaminated food or water.”
Ben McCarthy, head of nature conservation and restoration ecology at the National Trust, wants to challenge the government:
“This disease undoes decades of hard work to restore ecosystems and undermines government efforts to reverse the decline of our threatened spaces and improve their habitat.”