Highly pathogenic bird flu has been confirmed in a small commercial flock of chickens in the Highlands.
The Scottish government said the flock, consisting of 100 birds, tested positive for H5N1 at a farm near Lochcarron on Wednesday (9 August).
A 3km Protection Zone and a 10km Surveillance Zone has been declared.
This means movement restrictions within the zone – for example, poultry, carcasses, eggs, used poultry litter and manure – to prevent any further spread of disease.
The Scottish government said vigilance by bird keepers was 'important', and any suspicion of disease must be 'immediately reported' to the local APHA Field Services office.
Since late 2021, the UK and Europe has been experiencing one of the worst avian influenza outbreaks on record, with tens of millions of poultry culled.
Earlier this year, four poultry workers in England contracted avian influenza after they came into contact with infected birds.
Despite this, the government recently lifted the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) for poultry and captive birds, introduced to help stop the spread of bird flu, as the risk of the disease was reduced to 'low'.
