Summary:
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An industry leader has informed MPs that the avian flu has caused the culling or death of half of the free-range turkeys raised for Christmas in the UK. The CEO of the British Poultry Council, Richard Griffiths, said that 600,000 of the 1.3 million free-range chickens had died.
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To combat avian flu, the government has ordered all poultry and caged birds in England to be kept indoors.
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Costs to the sector are “possibly tremendous,” according to Mr. Griffiths.
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Why is the avian flu this year so severe?  Concerns about the supply of free-range turkey are expected, but producers say they don’t know if prices will go up.
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The British Poultry Council and Defra emphasize that there are no problems with supplies of other birds; instead, the problem is with free-range turkeys.
An industry leader has informed MPs that the avian flu has caused the culling or death of half of the free-range turkeys raised for Christmas in the UK.
The CEO of the British Poultry Council, Richard Griffiths, said that 600,000 of the 1.3 million free-range chickens had died.
To combat avian flu, the government has ordered all poultry and caged birds in England to be kept indoors.
Costs to the sector are “possibly tremendous,” according to Mr. Griffiths.
Why is the avian flu this year so severe?
Concerns about the supply of free-range turkey are expected, but producers say they don’t know if prices will go up.
The British Poultry Council and Defra emphasize that there are no problems with supplies of other birds; instead, the problem is with free-range turkeys.
Richard Griffiths addressed the UK parliamentary committee on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues.
According to him, 36% of all poultry farms in the nation are now subject to some control, whether or not they have been impacted.
So, he continued, “it’s big, and the costs for industry and food production might be immense.”
