NFU East Anglia urge poultry farmers to be vigilant against bird flu
This comes after a handful of cases have been found in Norfolk and Essex
Last updated 25th Nov 2021
NFU East Anglia is urging poultry farmers across the East to be vigilant and take precautions to stop bird flu spreading.
This comes after a handful of cases have been found in Norfolk and Essex. John Newton is the organisations lead on Poultry.
He says every farmer in the area's got to take it seriously and can do a lot to help stamp out the virus:
"Whether they have one bird or a million it's vital they take it seriously and look out for the signs of bird-flu. Its important they maintain high-levels of bio-security, such as making sure their birds don't come into contact with wild birds such as waterfowl who are the carriers of this disease.
"In addition to this they need to make sure their houses are rodent proof, so they aren't bringing disease in and that they clear up feed spillages, because if they don't do this it could attract wild birds".
But he went on to say that the methods used to contain the disease and driving down case numbers are very effective:
"We have something like fifteen to twenty outbreaks across the whole of the UK every year. Luckily they are quite isolated and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs policy of culling birds as soon as there is an outbreak has been very successful in limiting the spread of the disease so far".
Mr Newton concluded by telling us that the virus is unlikely to cause disruption in the run up to Christmas:
"The number of birds culled can be quite large for a producer but in the overall context of the poultry sector, its a very small percentage so it shouldn't have a direct on food supply in the lead up to Christmas".