Avian flu spreads 1.8 million farming birds

The BBC has learned that about 1.8 million farming and captive birds have been closed in the last three months in the last three months, as the BBC has learned.

So far there have been 33 outbreaks of viruses on the fields, but the risk for humans is low, chicken and eggs are safe to eat. If cooked properly, the government says.

Concerns have been raised about the impact of bird flu on mental health of farmers, one said she was “nervous”.

The government said it had worked quickly to close all the poultry in the infected campus to stop “UK’s food security”, but recognized its devastating effects.

A spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that since the first outbreak on November 5, there was a “small ratio” of the total production of the 1.78 million bird industry, which is about 20 million birds a week.

At the beginning of the worst outbreak of bird flu, 3.2 million birds were closed between October 2021 and September 2022.

One of the farmers affected in 2021 was Lucy Sanderson of North Yorkshire, who says that people do not know about mental health effects on farmers.

“It was terrible. I cried for a week – and I thought I was a strong man,” he said.

“Along with losing my job, my income, my everyday life, I ruined the lives of my employees as I had to make them meaningless. The knock-on influence was very big.

“I am afraid to return it.”

Gary Ford of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association stated that “there was a lot of concern and concern among poultry farmers and, in some cases, nervousness”.

The bio -cortery restrictions are currently in England, Wales and Scotland as part of an avian influenza prevention area, with all the counties compulsory housing for all birds.

National Farmers Union Poultry Board Chairman James Mottershed said that the outbreak of bird flu was “a huge emotional and financial stress on agricultural families”.

He said, “Farmers take such care to protect the health and welfare of their birds and are disastrous to look at the agreement,” he said.

A Diffra spokesperson said that any farmer will be compensated for all healthy birds which have been prepared for disease control purposes.

“We know that bird flu has had a devastating effect on farmers and poultry growers, which is why we have taken more measures in recent weeks, including presenting housing orders in the most affected areas,” she said .

“We have worked quickly to reduce all the chicken in the infected premises to prevent the spread of the disease and protect the UK food security.”