The strain of bird flu found on a duck breeding farm in the UK is the same as one recently identified in the Netherlands and Germany, the UK's Environment Department has said.

The Badger Trust is back in court today with a new legal challenge over the British Government’s badger cull policy.

London Ambulance Service has seen a rise in the number of people calling 999 for help with breathing difficulties, asthma and heart problems, it said.

Record levels of air pollution will continue to plague the UK, experts have warned.

Britain could face at least 12 gigawatts (GW) of power plant capacity going offline by the end of 2023 due to tighter European Union pollution regulation, Reuters calculations based on government data showed yesterday.

The UK wheat harvest, historically the European Union’s third-largest, may be the smallest this year since 2001 after winter crop planting decreased, the government said.

Sheikh Mohammed is facing fresh embarrassment following the seizure of 124 medical products, none of which have been approved for use on horses in Britain, at part of his Dalham Hall Stud operation in Newmarket.

The first pilot badger control operations have begun in the UK, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said today.

Numbers entering the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) have reduced from 180 valid applicants in 2012 to 105 this year, according to figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

British government ministers were warned in 2011 that horse meat was illegally entering the human food chain, it was claimed.

British Environment Secretary Owen Paterson will update MPs today on the horsemeat scandal after warning that the next set of tests could produce more bad results.

Britain’s beleaguered towns and villages were dealt a further blow today as more rain battered the country and 200,000 householders were warned they could lose their home insurance policies.

British dairy farmers and processing firms have struck a deal “in principle” to end the bitter stalemate over milk prices.

A climate change consultancy that advised the White House today warned shareholders would be left with “little or no value” as it considers its future after failing to find a solution to its balance sheet woes.

A case of rabies has been confirmed in the UK, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said.

A new animal disease which causes birth defects and miscarriages in livestock has now been found on 74 farms in England.

The south east of England is now in a state of drought, Britain's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said today.

East Anglia: Britain, the European Union’s third-biggest wheat producer, declared a drought in the grain- growing East Anglian region and said other areas are also under threat after the driest spring on record.

THE temporary closure of Europe’s largest wheat-fuelled bioethanol plant is attributed to the rising cost of grain, and slow implementation of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.

FUNDING for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), which looks after agriculture in Britain, was cut 29% in the country’s recent spending review to save £66 billion.

WITHOUT farm subsidies, Ireland would have the fewest financially sound farms in the EU, research carried out by the Dutch Agricultural Economics Research Institute on behalf of Britain’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs shows.

Poultry at two Bernard Matthews farms have tested positive for bird flu, the company said today.

Electric shock dog collars are to be banned in Wales, it was announced today.

Beef and pig farmers in the North are cutting back production or quitting altogether because of poor farm-gate prices, it was revealed today.

A new bluetongue protection zone has been set up after a new case of the disease was discovered in London, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.

A new bluetongue protection zone has been set up after a new case of the disease was discovered in Greater London, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said today.

Europe’s agriculture commissioner lost her cool this afternoon over claims that EU farm subsidies are being handed out to golf clubs and riding stables in the UK.

POULTRY on four new farms are to be culled amid growing concerns last night that they could have been exposed to the deadly H5N1 bird flu that infected a flock of turkeys in East Anglia.

Farming in the UK was tonight dealt a fresh blow after vets confirmed bird flu in a flock of free-range turkeys.

The H5 strain of bird flu has been confirmed in turkeys on a farm in the UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said today.

A city is bidding to become the first in Britain to bring in a ban on plastic bags in an effort to reduce their impact on the environment.

British government vets were carrying out tests today after suspected foot-and-mouth disease was found in East Sussex, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.

Bluetongue virus is now circulating in the UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed today.

A third animal has tested positive for bluetongue, a livestock virus which struck in Britain for the first time last week, British government vets said today.

A surveillance zone has been put in place to monitor bluetongue after a second animal was found to have contracted the disease at the British farm where the UK's first case of the disease was discovered.

A double threat emerged for Britain’s farmers tonight when bluetongue disease joined foot-and-mouth as a menace to their livestock.

Tests have confirmed another case of foot and mouth disease in Surrey, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said.

A temporary control zone was set up around a premises near Solihull, England, today as officials investigate another suspected case of foot-and-mouth.

A raft of companies in the UK will have their products’ carbon footprints measured as part of a drive to cut emissions.

Britain’s farmers were urged to remain watchful tonight as the latest foot-and-mouth outbreak appeared to be contained.

The British Ramblers Association today condemned those who have flouted biosecurity measures imposed to halt the spread of foot and mouth disease.

Cattle culled on a second farm have tested positive for foot and mouth disease, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said today.