At least 10,000 turkeys to be slaughtered as bird flu confirmed on UK farm in North Yorkshire
More than 10,000 turkeys will be culled at a site in North Yorkshire following an outbreak of bird flu.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced the cull on Sunday adding that it should not have an impact on supplies of turkey over Christmas.
The discovery of the H5N8 strain of the avian flu was made at a turkey fattening site near Northallerton was made on Saturday.
Defra released a statement confirming the news.
It reads: “Avian influenza of the H5N8 strain was confirmed at a turkey fattening premises near Northallerton on Saturday November 28.
“All 10,500 birds at the farm will be humanely culled to limit the spread of the disease.
“A 3km and 10km temporary control zone has been put in place around the infected site to limit the risk of the disease spreading.”
The statement added there is not anticipated to be any impact on the supplies of turkeys or other birds over Christmas.
The news comes after around 13,500 birds were culled earlier this month after an avian flu outbreak was confirmed at a commercial farm in Helsby, near Frodsham in Cheshire.
Public Health England and local health protection teams, who were involved, said the human risk of infection is very low for the general population, and low for those immediate contacts on site.
A Food Standards Agency spokesperson said: “Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, remain safe to eat.”
Clinical signs that poultry keepers should look for in their birds include a swollen head, discolouration of neck and throat, loss of appetite, respiratory distress, diarrhoea and fewer eggs laid – although clinical signs vary between species of bird.
H5N8 avian influenza is currently circulating in wild birds and poultry in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, causing clinical signs in affected birds.
This led to the risk level being raised to medium for the incursion into the UK through the movement of wild birds.
These viruses are in no way connected to the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus which is not carried in poultry.
Courtesy of mirror.co.uk
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