AS the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu aviates ever closer to our shores, both Waverley Borough Council and Surrey County Council have reassured residents that they are taking the necessary precautions. With a dead duck found just outside Lyon last month and news that a domestic German cat contracted the highly pathogenic disease last weekend, the fear of an outbreak is a very real one. While France began a programme of inoculation this week - a preventative measure not ruled out by Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett - on a local scale this route may be open to Birdworld. The bird park at Holt Pound ismonitoring the situation on a daily basis, with park curator Steve Bromfield happy with the current bio- security system. He is adamant that the park will continue to open as normal, unless advised otherwise by Defra. "We need to maintain a balance and not to over-react. The risk has slightly increased with confirmation of the case in France but you have to remember that France is six times the size of the UK and we are only talking about one bird." And he assured The Herald that there is no risk to Birdworld visitors. Reports of people dying from close contact with bird flu had, he stressed, "been in parts of the world where the lifestyle is very different from ours - where poultry is part of village life and birds and people share the same intimate environment. You are not going to catch bird flu visiting a bird park." The ornithologist further pointed out that during the last outbreak of avian influenza, at a turkey farm in Norfolk in 1991, the disease had been effectively contained. While councils in the South, including Chichester District Council, are actively planning ahead for an outbreak by recording all owners of small flocks and poultry, Anna's Country Stores - a pet shop in nearby Rushmoor has received no such communication. "We haven't been given any advice at all from Defra (Department for Food and Rural Affairs)," said Anna Stephens. "I think that's quite bad," she added. "We've got our chickens in aviaries at the moment - we don't have masses of them due to the time of year. Currently we have six chickens, whereas usually we have about 60, and there are no intentions to raise our stock," she added. Susannah Robinson, WBC's environmental health manager told The Herald: "We are in touch with key partners including the government's rural affairs ministry Defra, who are leading on the issue nationally at the moment. "They feed information to the local authority co-ordinators of regulatory services. What they do is issue guidance to local authorities in relation to a whole host of matters. One of the things they pick up is guidance to local authorities on bird 'flu and issue advice to our partners, who include trading standards, who are watching all the guidance at the moment." "WBC deals with information relating to the licensing of bird shows, identifying any show, or falconry or pigeon races, of which there are only a few in this area. "WBC also licenses pet shops in the borough and is aware of what stocks they keep "Basically, the advice we are giving at the moment in accordance with Defra guidance is that anyone concerned about a dead bird or dead wildfowl should phone the Defra helpline on 08459 335577." In a statement, Defra commented: "We believe that the existing precautionary measures that we have in place remain sufficient and appropriate for the time being. "All people who keep poultry and other domestic birds should remain vigilant for signs of the disease and all keepers should maintain a high level of bio-security to reduce the risk of introducing the disease. Deputy chief veterinary officer Fred Landeg made a statement on the current situation on February 22. He made it clear that Defra's priority is to ensure that we would be able to eradicate an outbreak of avian influenza as quickly and effectively as possible. He said: "Early detection and slaughter of infected birds and dangerous contacts, and the imposition of movement controls around infected premises, provide the most effective method of achieving this. We have eradicated previous outbreaks of avian influenza successfully in domestic birds using this method. " For hands-on bird lovers in the region, there is currently no perceived risk to people visiting bird or wildfowl parks, or to people wanting to feed the ducks on Frensham Pond. However, last week at the National Farmers' Union (NFU) annual conference, Dame Deirdre Hutton warned that chicken should be cooked properly, devoid of pink fluid or meat, while eggs should also be cooked properly until the whites are solid.