Farmers ramping up biosecurity measures as cases of bird flu continue to spread across East Anglia

Farmers are ramping up a series of biosecurity measures as cases of bird flu continue to spread across the region.

A further outbreak this week brings the number of cases across East Anglia to seven since February 26, with protection zones being set up to prevent any further spread.

Gary Ford, regional director for the National Farmers’ Union, made a desperate plea to farmers and poultry owners to follow guidance and keep their birds indoors at all times.

He said: “These latest cases are concerning news for our region’s vital poultry sector and highlight how great a risk avian influenza still poses. It is a challenging time for all bird owners and vigilance is key.

“We are relying on all bird keepers, whether they have a small back-yard flock or a commercial business to follow the enhanced biosecurity and housing measures in place and to report any signs of disease in their birds to their vet or the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha).

“The NFU is in close daily contact with Apha and we are working to support any members who are affected.”

Following an outbreak at Gressingham Foods near Redgrave last month, which led to 35,000 ducks being culled, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) set up a 3km (two-mile) protection zone and a 10km (six-mile) surveillance zone, requiring increased biosafety measures and placing restrictions on the movement of poultry within it.

One of the farmers within the 10km protection zone, Philip Brown, is now keeping his flock of more than 500 free-range chickens inside, but warned that poultry owners will be unable to bear the cost of measures if they continue.

“The conversations I’m having with other farmers are the same,” said Mr Brown, who runs The Ultimate Joint from his farm in Finningham Road, Rickinghall.

“They are all getting worried about it. We have brought all the security measures we can in.

“All the birds are inside, under metals roofs or netting to keep the wild birds away.

“But keeping birds inside means you have to use more energy. They eat more when they are sat inside doing nothing – and the price of animal feed is going up and up.

“We’re now having to plan for future winters. We’ve got to plan ahead in case this continues to happen.”

Mr Brown added that if he was forced to cull his flock, it would not only set him back around £5,000, but he would have to wait for his farm to be disinfected and have a new flock of chickens grow to the size that he could sell them, taking up to six months in total.

Following the outbreak in Redgrave last month, Gressingham Duck said in a statement: “Over the weekend, there was a confirmed outbreak of avian influenza in a local back-yard flock, which put many of our facilities inside control zones.

“Unfortunately, a Green Label duck farm was confirmed as having highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1.

“The farm has taken every precaution and there has been no movement of birds or other material off the premises. The farm is now under Apha control.”

Bird keepers within the protection zone must cleanse and disinfect anything that comes into contact with captive birds, and keep records of the people who enter or leave their premises.

The UK’s chief veterinary officer has now urged all poultry keepers in Suffolk to keep birds indoors following the outbreaks –regardless of whether they are in a surveillance zone or not.

The East of England contains more than a fifth of England’s poultry farms and the regional value of poultry meat was £557 million in 2018.

The region produces about 41 per cent of England’s turkeys, with some 14,000 people employed in meat and poultry processing.