Bird flu blow for UK

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

Around 5,000 birds, including ducks and geese, were due to be culled after turkeys in Redgrave, Suffolk, tested positive for the contagious H5 strain of the virus, said the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

British government vets said they did not know whether the birds were infected with a highly-pathogenic form of the disease.

Livestock farmers are already trying to recover after outbreaks of foot and mouth disease and bluetongue earlier this year.

National Farmers’ Union leaders said bird flu was the “last thing” the industry needed.

The infected birds are owned by poultry producer Gressingham Foods, which is based in Woodbridge, Suffolk.

Around 6,000 birds were on the site where the virus emerged, said company officials

Operations director Geoff Buchanan said about 60 turkeys in a flock of 1,000 had tested positive.

He said the alarm had been raised on Sunday after a rise in death rates.

Experts say bird flu rarely affects humans and is transmitted only through close contact with infected birds.

The Food Standards Agency said poultry products remained safe as long properly cooked.

And poultry industry leaders were keen to allay fear that the bird flu outbreak would lead to a shortage of Christmas turkeys.

Defra said protection and surveillance zones had been set up around the infected farm.

Inside the zones, bird movements were restricted and birds had to be housed and isolated from wild birds.

Deputy chief veterinary officer Fred Landeg said the cause of the infection was not known and he urged farmers to be vigilant.

“Everybody needs to be concerned, this is avian influenza,” he said.

“We are asking every poultry keeper to be vigilant, to house their birds where they are required to do so in any restricted area and carry out good bio-security measures and report any signs of disease.”