SMALL-SCALE poultry owners have been warned not to panic following the abandonment of a number of hens in an Angus woodland.

Around 20 hens had to be destroyed after they were found wandering in the 200-acre Ethie Woods, between Arbroath and Montrose, by a walker at the weekend.

As they were found within the bird flu monitoring zone set up last week, all had to be humanely put down.

SSPCA senior inspector John Carle said, “We didn’t know where the birds came from so we couldn’t take them out of the contamination area. Our only option was to kill them. This is the last thing we want to see happening.”

The hens were in good condition and the person who dumped them had left piles of grain for them to eat.

Meanwhile North East Tory MSP Alex Johnstone, himself a farmer, submitted a written question to the Scottish Executive after concerns were raised about possible delays in publicising the news that the H5N1 strain of avian flu was present in the dead swan recovered in Cellardyke.

Mr Johnstone said, “Several people have expressed concern that there was possibly a considerable delay between finding the H5N1 strain in the bird, and the news being made public. I am keen to see news updates dis- tributed as they occur so that the public can have confidence in the system.

“At present, only one wild bird has been found to have the disease. Several countries have had isolated examples such as ours. It was inevitable we would encounter it at some point.

“The case of an owner dumping their hens in an Angus woodland shows exactly the knee-jerk reaction that can be avoided by sensible news management.”

He praised the “common sense approach” of Angus Council and added, “I would encourage consumers to continue supporting the poultry industry.”