Free-range sector risk From avian influenza

While housing is an important step to protect birds when avian influenza is a threat, it can bring potentially serious impacts for the free-range sector.

Under egg labelling regulations there is a derogation allowing freerange units to house birds for up to 16 weeks under a disease-control order without losing their freerange status and having to change all their packaging to reflect that.

With such an early introduction of the housing order there is a very real risk that this 16week limit will be exceeded with bird flu infection risk not expected to decrease until late March into April.

This leaves the sector in the difficult position of asking government to lift the housing order earlier, while the risks are still high, putting the health of birds in danger or, undergoing the difficult, expensive and complex processing of having to source and replace all packaging and creating serious disruption to the egg market.

Free-range producers continue to have higher costs of production despite the housing order, and they need a price differential to recognise the commitment to a higher welfare, higher cost system.

The impact on a holding of having disease is huge although farmers are compensated for healthy birds culled. Often by the time disease is confirmed on a premises large numbers of birds will already be sick or dead so will not be compensated.

There is no compensation for loss of income from eggs from the period when disease is suspected until restocking is permitted and there are significant costs associated with cleansing and disinfection and the disposal of waste materials in this period.

When disease is confirmed on any premises, be it a small backyard flock or a large commercial unit, zones are put in place impacting on other enterprises within or close to the premises. It also impacts on the trade of birds, eggs and poultry meat causing considerable disruption for the industry.

Movements into or out of the zone must be carried out under licence and movements through zones is not permitted, causing considerable disruption to businesses within and around zones, especially in cases where packing plants, hatcheries or slaughter premises are within or close to a zone.

The scale of cases this year has seen large areas of England effectively closed off, causing significant disruption to the whole sector.

Scotland has so far been spared the same level of loss.

CAUTION URGED: Egg producers could face big costs if their poultry is affected.