Welfare proposal, bird flu hit EU poultry business

THE arrival of bird flu in four EU countries has hit poultry production, and the European Parliament’s vote in favour of reducing poultry house stocking density has also knocked the stuffing out of the industry this week.

Poultry sales have plunged by more than 50% in parts of Italy and by more than 90% in Greece, two of the countries where the H5N1 strain of bird flu, potentially lethal to humans, has been found.

H5N1 has also been found in Austria and Slovenia.