Environment

Following an increase in the number of detections of avian influenza (bird flu) in wild birds and other captive birds, the Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer from Scotland and Chief Veterinary Officer from England have declared a national Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) to mitigate the risk of the disease spreading amongst poultry and other captive birds.

The red carpet will be rolled out across Scotland next week for one of the UK’s wildest living landscapes and all its fantastically boggy inhabitants.

The Met Office has issued an amber and red warnings for high winds, covering most of Scotland, running from 6am on Friday 24th January through to 9pm that night.

A yellow wind warning is in place for the whole of the country throughout Friday, and a yellow warning for snow also runs from early Friday morning until noon.

The Great Yellow bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus) was once widespread throughout Great Britain. Habitat loss, however, has driven its decline and it can now only be found in northern Scotland in Orkney, Sutherland and Caithness, and some of the Hebridean islands.

Future Woodlands Scotland has been announced as sponsors of a new Urban Forestry Award at the Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards 2025.

Nearly 1000 people have already attended the 30-plus public consultation events and online sessions about the proposed National Park in Galloway.

The Scottish Government have published examples of diverse initiatives around Scotland that are in some way contributing to our flood resilience.

Around Scotland there are many initiatives underway contributing to flood resilience - from small scale community led initiatives to national actions led by the responsible authorities.

Updated guidance about Schmallenberg virus (SBV) has been published by Scottish Government to support farmers and crofters identify the illness in livestock.

(SBV) is a virus first identified in Europe in 2011. It was first detected in the UK in 2012, and then in 2016-2017 and from 2021 onwards. 

The Dumfries & Galloway Tree Planting Grant scheme (DGTPG) is still open for applications. 

The DGTPG covers the whole of the Dumfries and Galloway area and seeks to grow the numbers of woodland trees with small areas of planting to benefit the Dumfries and Galloway landscape whilst promoting the guardianship of woodland environments in local communities.

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