Pro-active culling of thousands of birds

Tens of thousands of birds are being culled at a farm in Lancashire to prevent further spread of bird flu, according to Defra.

The H5N8 avian flu strain has already been confirmed in pheasants in two farms in Wyre.

Pro-active culling of 63,000 birds, including pheasants, partridges and ducks, will take place at a third site nearby to contain the spread.

All three sites have a business link, Defra said.

The first outbreak, in a farm with 10,000 pheasants, was discovered last week.

This was followed by a second case involving a flock of around 1,000 pheasants.

A routine investigation of the third farm following the earlier outbreaks failed to rule out the presence of the disease, prompting the decision to cull the birds.

After the flock has been culled, the premises will be cleaned and disinfected, further reducing the risk that disease can be spread to other birds, with restrictions in place around the sites until the process and investigations are complete.

Public Health England advises that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and the Food Standards Agency is clear that bird flu does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers.

On January 16, Defra confirmed a case of bird flu in a flock of about 6,000 turkeys at a farm in East Lindsey, Lincolnshire.

Earlier in the month, the strain was also discovered in two small backyard flocks of chickens and ducks on premises near Settle in North Yorkshire, and Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales.

An avian influenza prevention zone was declared on December 6.

It will remain in place until February 28. This requires owners to keep poultry and captive birds indoors or to take steps to separate them from wild birds.

A pro-active cull of birds in Lancashire includes pheasants.