Whether it has assessed the levels of compliance by different sectors with the requirements of the Scottish Kept Bird Register to date. 

Enforcement of the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (Scotland) Order 2007, which is the legislation under which the requirement for bird keepers in Scotland to notify the Scottish Ministers (in writing) in relation to the premises where birds are kept, was extended from those with 50 or more birds to all bird keepers from 1 September 2024. Enforcement is the responsibility of Scotland’s Local Authorities. The measures were enforceable from 1 December 2024. The principal aims of the introduction of the Scottish Kept Bird Register was to communicate risk and best practice to Scotland’s bird keepers, whilst allowing for more efficient and effective surveillance during disease outbreak periods, thereby promoting animal welfare and public health.This information was previously not available to government and so compliance figures cannot be ascertained by way of a comparison with an established baseline of kept bird numbers, established before the register was extended.However, prior to the extension of the register to include all keepers, an extrapolation was made from surveillance figures for kept birds, gleaned in previous outbreak periods, and current bird registration numbers are broadly in comparison to these initial estimated number of keepers.Compliance will continue to be assessed over time as local authority activities disclose non-compliance within their council areas and government communication campaigns encourage those still unaware of their legal requirements in this respect to register their birds.