Farmers warn that if the biggest bird flu epidemic in UK history expands, holiday turkey supplies may be at jeopardy.
So far, more than three million birds have been killed, and poultry farmers are becoming more and more worried about their flocks.
Throughout order to attempt to restrict the illness, special protection zones have been established in Norfolk, Suffolk, some of Essex, and the whole South West of England.
In the lead-up to Christmas, there may be “holy slaughter” if avian flu spreads to turkeys, according to James Mottershead, chairman of the National Farmers’ Union poultry board. Seasonal turkey farmers have reportedly been impacted in certain cases, according to me.
He stated that farms with an epidemic and those that are deemed contaminated could have to cease farming poultry for up to a year.
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, British farmers raise around one billion birds annually, and authorities are aiming to “eradicate the illness as rapidly as possible.”
Ducks and other domesticated birds are also under danger. For instance, the owner of Creedy Carver farm in Devon, James Coleman, had to kill 20,000 ducks.
He told Sky News, “Right now, everyone in the business is simply perpetually on tenterhooks.”
He demanded financial assistance for farmers who lose birds and are forced to close their operations when the virus is discovered, saying that there needs to be a “major review” of how Defra handles the epidemic.
There has already been a significant effect on wild birds, according to Paul St Pierre, a conservation officer with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
It may take decades for some of these populations to recover since these birds have lengthy lifespans. You’re talking about birds that don’t even begin reproducing for five years and then only produce one baby per year.