February 13, 2025

 

Close to 1.8 million birds in UK culled in last three  months as avian flu spreads

 

 

Almost 1.8 million farmed and captive birds have been culled in the past three months due to the spread of avian flu across the United Kingdom, the BBC has learned.

 

There have been 33 outbreaks of the virus on farms.

 

The risk to humans remains low, with chicken and eggs safe to eat if properly cooked, but there are concerns about the impact bird flu is having on farmers' mental health.

 

The government said it had acted quickly to cull all poultry on infected premises "to protect Britain's food security", but recognised the devastating impact it was having.

 

A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the 1.78 million birds culled since the first outbreak on November 5 was a "small proportion" of the industry's total production, which is about 20 million birds a week.

 

At the beginning of the worst outbreak of bird flu, 3.2 million birds were culled between October 2021 and September 2022.

 

Biosecurity restrictions are currently in place across England, Wales and Scotland as part of an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone.

 

On February 12, it was announced that all farmers and bird-keepers in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Lancashire will also have to house their flocks from midnight on February 16.

 

Housing orders are already in place across East Riding of Yorkshire, City of Kingston upon Hull, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Shropshire, York and North Yorkshire.

 

James Mottershead, chairman of the National Farmers' Union poultry board, said bird flu outbreaks were putting a "huge emotional and financial strain on farming families".

 

"Farmers take such care to protect the health and welfare of their birds and it's devastating to see that compromised," he added.

 

A Defra spokeswoman said compensation would be paid to any farmer for all healthy birds that have been culled for disease control purposes.

 

"We know the devastating impact bird flu has had on farmers and poultry producers, which is why we have taken further measures in recent weeks, including introducing housing orders in the most affected areas," she said. "We have acted quickly to cull all poultry on infected premises to stop the risk of the disease spreading and to protect Britain's food security."

- BBC