More than 100,000 turkeys and geese culled after bird flu outbreaks

East Anglia has become the national focal point of the UK's worst-ever outbreak of avian influenza in recent weeks.

The most recent case, confirmed at a farm near Lowestoft on September 29, was the ninth in Norfolk and Suffolk since the start of September. Defra says all birds on the infected site will be humanely culled.

Other cases included a farm near Attleborough where 64,000 turkeys were culled, along with at least 40,000 geese at farms in Northwold and Gayton in west Norfolk.

The virus has also affected thousands of commercial broiler chickens, as well as hitting wild bird colonies.

Fabian Eagle is a poultry auctioneer who is also a Norfolk county councillor and the authority's member champion for the rural economy.

Norfolk county councillor and poultry auctioneer Fabian Eagle (Image: Swaffham Town Council)

He said the recent culls would result in a shortage of geese for Christmas dinners - although turkey farms would be better placed to cope with the losses at this stage of the year.

"There is a shortage of geese across the whole of the UK and Europe and losing 40,000 here will have a significant impact," he said.

"There will be a shortage of geese at Christmas - but for turkeys, I don't think so.

"Turkey is a year-round business. 64,000 sounds like an incredible amount of birds, but this is just one unit on one farm, and it is not significant at this stage.

"I don't know the age of those turkeys but they would have other flocks they could change around so I doubt it will have a significant impact. At the moment these businesses can change and alter things to fill this gap, but if we start losing birds in November that is where there would be an impact."

Mr Eagle said more than 2.8m birds had been culled across the UK so far - by comparison, the country processes 20m birds every week.

The growing epidemic is a massive concern for East Anglia's nationally-important poultry industry, prompting some farmers to renew calls for vaccines to be introduced to protect chicks.

Mr Eagle, who also advises the government on the financial and conservation value of birds in avian influenza cases, said it was also hitting smaller poultry farms, set up to contract-rear chickens or ducks for larger producers.

"I have got clients who have scrimped and saved to set themselves up, small scale, to become contract farmers," he said.

"Then suddenly someone is saying: Your area is now a high risk zone, so we don't want to repopulate that area, we don't want to use that unit. So suddenly that person has lost their income.

"This is really hitting those people at the bottom rung of the farming ladder."

Mr Eagle said bird flu had "obliterated" turnover at the regular poultry auction he runs in Swaffham, which has been closed since May due to a ban on "poultry gatherings" during the outbreak.

Earlier this week, the rise in cases in the east of England sparked a raft of new restrictions for all poultry keepers - from commercial farms to backyard hobbyists - in a bid to halt the spread of the disease.

The regional Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) makes it a legal requirement for all bird keepers across Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex to follow heightened biosecurity rules to protect their flocks.

Mr Eagle called for a collective effort from rural communities to stop the spread of the virus.

"If you live in, or go out and enjoy, our rural areas, please just think about what impact you will potentially have on other people," he said.

"I'm not saying we should stop going out in the countryside, but we all have a collective responsibility to make sure if you have gone out for a walk around a country park, or down one of your footpaths or beside a waterway, then clean your footwear, give it some disinfectant or bleach, after you have a walk."

For full details on the requirements and boundaries of the AIPZ, see www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influenza-bird-flu