A protected colony of seabirds on a Welsh island has been hit by bird flu, the RSPB has confirmed. The colony of gannets on Grassholm led to the island being designated a Special Protection Area.
Grassholm, which is off the Pembrokeshire coast and home to the third-largest colony in the world for the species. But several of the birds have now been spotted dead after contracting avian flu. The news, shared with "a heavy heart", comes after news that bird flu has jumped to seabirds and is spreading fast.
After a series of localised outbreaks in the past few years, avian flu has re-emerged as a major driver of bird deaths across the UK. Until May this year, the latest outbreak of the disease – also known as bird flu or, to scientists, highly pathogenic avian influenza – was treated primarily as a problem for chickens and other domestic birds. It's why the UK had a period with no free-range eggs.
