Serious outbreak of Avian Flu found in pheasants

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has reported an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI H5N5) in 20 pheasants released onto a Worcestershire shoot. The outbreak was recorded on APHA’s weekly updated database for week 39 – in other words between 23-29 September – in Wychavon. No precise location details are provided and […]
The vile Pheasant shooting ‘season’ has started

With barely a press release or salivating media article, the pheasant shooting ‘season’ has started again in the UK. Over the next few months (until 1st of February) the countryside will echo with unwanted and upsetting reminders that birds are dying in vast numbers. It’s opened in marked contrast to the flurry of vapid puff […]
The Welsh government could be subsidising the largest pheasant-rearing farm in the UK

Research by Animal Aid has found that the Welsh government may have subsidised the UK’s biggest pheasant-rearing farm. The pheasants are bred to be shot for ‘sport’. Bettws Hall game farm raises raises more than 1.7 million pheasant and partridge chicks a year, which it sells to shooting estates to be killed for ‘fun’. On […]
Scotland: Avian Flu confirmed in pheasants

On August 11th, the day before the ‘Inglorious 12th’ and the start of grouse shooting, we reported that a case of highly-infectious Avian Flu had been detected in a Red Grouse. Given how Red Grouse are bred to create a ‘surplus’ for shooting (in other words, bred at far denser population levels than would occur […]
Avian Flu confirmed in a Red Grouse

The Animal and Plant Health Agency has updated its spreadsheet “Avian Flu in wild birds: 2023‘ to include the news that surely no one wanted to hear: a case of Avian Flu in a Red Grouse. The details are – to say the least – scant. All that is known is that a Red Grouse […]
Heads-up shooting industry: Avian Flu is still killing wild birds

Just last week we posted an article (‘World’s tiniest violin plays for shooting industry‘) about a puff piece for the shooting industry published by the Daily Telegraph. In our post we pointed out that shooting lobbyists were arguing that the massive releases of non-native birds to be shot should be allowed to go ahead partly […]
World’s tiniest violin plays for shooting industry

Last week Yahoo News reposted a Daily Telegraph puff piece for the shooting industry which ran with the headline, “Gamekeepers face ruin after last-minute change to licences.” Lamenting a normally supine government for actually (finally) recognising the terrible threat of Avian Flu to wild bird populations and that protected areas ought to be – you […]
Avian Flu: RSPB calls for ban on bird releases by shooting industry

“To help limit the catastrophic spread of Avian Influenza, the RSPB is calling for an immediate moratorium on the release of captive-bred gamebirds and Mallards for shooting in the UK this year. The call is for the UK and devolved governments and the shooting industry to take a precautionary approach to limit the spread of […]
Avian Flu forces lockdown of largest pheasant rearing farm in UK

Avian Flu protection zones have been imposed around a massive pheasant and partridge breeding farm in north Powys. The family-owned Bettws Hall Game Farm, near Bettws Cedewain, which describes itself as ‘a market leader in the production of pheasant and partridge chicks and poults in the UK‘, says it raises more than 1.7m pheasant and […]
Avian Flu: is the government serious about protecting wild birds?

Avian flu is spreading fast: Protect the Wild wonders whether the government is really serious about protecting wild birds, not just poultry. Avian Flu, or (HPAI) H5N1, is a highly contagious viral disease affecting the respiratory, digestive and/or nervous system of many species of birds. A disease originating in East Asia, Avian Flu infected chickens […]
Birds still being released and shot despite Avian Flu crisis

Avian influenza Prevention Zone declared across Great Britain making it a legal requirement for all bird keepers to follow strict biosecurity measures. Chief veterinary officers from England, Scotland and Wales have declared an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) across Great Britain to prevent the disease spreading amongst poultry and captive birds in a belated attempt to control […]
Half of world’s bird species in decline

One in eight bird species in danger of extinction warns State of the World’s Birds 2022 report Birdlife International, the global partnership of NGOs that works to conserve birds and their habitats, has released a follow-up to their 2018 State of Birds Report. In the latest report, State of the World’s Birds 2022, based on […]
Shocking footage released of pheasant shooting estate in Lancashire

Shocking footage of dead and dying birds filmed on shooting estate in Lancashire. In September 2022 investigators from the Hunt Investigation Team, in collaboration with Protect the Wild, captured undercover footage from pheasant pens at the Leighton Hall shooting estate in Carnforth, Lancashire. Seasoned investigators were shocked at what they found. Many young pheasants were […]
Undercover investigation exposes sick birds bred to be shot

Our latest undercover investigation exposes sick birds bred to be shot. The shooting industry profits by rearing flocks of near-tame birds to kill, promising its clients huge ‘bags’ (the disrespectful collective term they use rather than referring to individual birds) and charging them hundreds of pounds a day for the privilege of standing in a […]