October 26, 2005

DEFRA considers mass poultry culling if bird flu reaches Britain

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has considered mass poultry culling in Britain if bird flu reached the country. The plan came during recent meetings between DEFRA and some major agricultural firms.

Reports stated that DEFRA was engaged in detailed discussions with contractors about the most appropriate culling methods should the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu reach Britain. Mass culling would result in the destruction of millions of domestic chickens, turkeys and geese.

British farms reportedly held about 182 million layers and broilers, as well as five million turkeys, with numbers expected to surge in the next few weeks before Christmas.

Industry feedback indicated that DEFRA has not yet decided whether to bury or burn the poultry carcasses, but the operation was expected to be much easier compared with cattle culling during the UK's foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in the past.

Some leading British vets welcomed DEFRA's initiative in making advance preparations against a potential outbreak.

Meanwhile, an Intervet spokesman said the company's Nobilis Influenza H5 vaccine was an alternative to mass culling. He added that no new bird or human outbreaks have been reported in Hong Kong after the vaccine was used in a past programme to control bird flu there.