https://sputnikglobe.com/20221003/uk-farmers-fear-bird-flu-outbreak-could-mean-no-festive-turkey-gobbling-1101457315.html
UK Farmers Fear Bird Flu Outbreak Could Mean No Festive Turkey-Gobbling
UK Farmers Fear Bird Flu Outbreak Could Mean No Festive Turkey-Gobbling
Sputnik International
Although a rare occurrence, people have occasionally been infected with avian influenza, raising fears that a mutant strain could make the leap to the human... 03.10.2022, Sputnik International
2022-10-03T17:39+0000
2022-10-03T17:39+0000
2023-05-28T15:21+0000
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British farmers have warned of "holy carnage" if the worst a bird flu outbreak in years spreads to turkey farms before Christmas.Avian Influenza Prevention Zones have already been introduced in Norfolk, Suffolk, parts of Essex and the whole of the South West of England — the heartlands of UK turkey farming — and more than 3 million birds have been culled in a bid to stem the outbreak.The National Farmer's Union (NFU) said there was a real risk that the traditional Christmas dinner of turkey could be off the menu if the virus spreads to more turkey farms Mottershead said he knew of some seasonal turkey farms that had already been hit by the outbreak this year."If you have an outbreak on your farm and your farm is classed as an infected premises, it is serious — you could be out of production up for up to 12 months," he said.Although wild bird populations have been hardest-hit by the outbreak so far, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has imposed strict biosecurity restrictions. Farms with more than 500 birds can only allow essential staff and visitors on site.The outbreak has many producers on edge. Devon poultry farmer James Coleman culled 20,000 ducks at his Creedy Carver farm as a precaution — even though the bird flu had not been detected there.While it is rare for avian flu to infect humans, mutant strains other viruses such as COVID-19 have made the jump from animals to people.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20220901/swedish-researchers-sound-the-alarm-as-worlds-first-case-of-bird-flu-in-a-porpoise-is-confirmed-1100252588.html
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turkey, avian flu, bird flu, bird flu, uk national farmers' union (nfu), britain, great britain, united kingdom (uk)
UK Farmers Fear Bird Flu Outbreak Could Mean No Festive Turkey-Gobbling
17:39 GMT 03.10.2022 (Updated: 15:21 GMT 28.05.2023) Although a rare occurrence, people have occasionally been infected with avian influenza, raising fears that a mutant strain could make the leap to the human population just as other viruses such as COVID-19 have.
British farmers have warned of "holy carnage" if the worst a bird flu outbreak in years spreads to turkey farms before Christmas.
Avian Influenza Prevention Zones have already been introduced in Norfolk, Suffolk, parts of Essex and the whole of the South West of England — the heartlands of UK turkey farming — and more than 3 million birds have been culled in a bid to stem the outbreak.
The
National Farmer's Union (NFU) said there was a real risk that the traditional Christmas dinner of turkey could be off the menu if the virus spreads to more turkey farms
"If bird flu, for example, gets into turkeys that could cause holy carnage," NFU Poultry Board chairman James Mottershead told
Sky News. "That could cause real supply chain issues in the run-up to Christmas time. The realities of it are quite severe."
Mottershead said he knew of some seasonal turkey farms that had already been hit by the outbreak this year.
"If you have an outbreak on your farm and your farm is classed as an infected premises, it is serious — you could be out of production up for up to 12 months," he said.
1 September 2022, 06:19 GMT
Although wild bird populations have been hardest-hit by the outbreak so far, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has imposed strict biosecurity restrictions. Farms with more than 500 birds can only allow essential staff and visitors on site.
The outbreak has many producers on edge. Devon poultry farmer James Coleman culled 20,000 ducks at his Creedy Carver farm as a precaution — even though the bird flu had not been detected there.
"At the moment everybody in the industry is just on tenterhooks constantly," Coleman said. "As soon as you get a new batch of birds on our other site, you're permanently worried. Every day you go and look at them and if a duck sneezes in a slightly different fashion, you're instantly thinking 'hang on a minute — is something wrong?'"
While it is rare for avian flu to infect humans, mutant strains other viruses such as
COVID-19 have made the jump from animals to people.
