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A poultry farmer in the Midlands is warning that thousands of Christmas dinners are at risk due to outbreaks of bird flu across the country. Bird flu has been confirmed in farms in North Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Devon and East Sussex leading to fears that supplies of turkey may be at risk. Farmer Andrew Goodman, who works at Goodman's Geese in Great Witley, Worcestershire, told the BBC that the threat of bird flu infections was a “continual worry” ahead of the festive period. A single outbreak of the disease could lead 10,000 Christmas lunches to “disappear”, he said. Describing the impact of an outbreak, he said: "You're finished basically. If we got it, all the birds would be slaughtered on the farm and then, with our free-range system, you're not allowed to restock for 12 months. "Which would mean no birds for Christmas next year." 'Prepare for the worst' Meanwhile The Pirbright Institute's Professor Ian Brown, formerly director of science at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), said farmers should be "prepared for the worst". So far this season - which began in October - there have been 26 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza, external (HPAI) H5N1 on farms across the UK, with 22 in England alone. Whole flocks have to be culled when an outbreak occurs. Professor Brown told the BBC that the current virus was "as super-infectious as any high pathogenicity avian influenza we've ever seen". He added that farmers should now "prepare for the worst, I'm afraid". "We had a very, very serious epidemic between 2021 and 2023 - in excess of 350 outbreaks in the UK. That's off the scale," he explained. "Now, it's really, really difficult to state what the final size of this outbreak would be, but the early signals are not great." He added that the threat level meant the poultry industry needed to "batten the hatches down, review their biosecurity and redouble their efforts". How does bird flu spread? Bird flu spreads through bird droppings and saliva as well as contaminated feed and water. To combat the spread of disease, authorities have extended compulsory housing rules for poultry from the North, Midlands and East of England to the whole of England from Thursday. An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone, requiring strict biosecurity and hygiene measures, is currently in place across the country. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have said the rules, which apply to anyone who keeps more than 50 birds or sells poultry products, will remain in place until further notice. Mr Goodman said that the strict housing and biosecurity measures involve additional work and bedding to keep his birds locked down, as well as disinfecting vehicles that are driving into the yard. "Hopefully we will be alright. We'll do everything we can to prevent it," he said. "We're in a fairly good area, we haven't got a large body of water near us. So we haven't got that water fowl risk of coming onto the farm. "It's frightening every time you come down in the morning to check the birds, you just think 'oh hell'. You learn to live with it but it does play on your mind quite a bit."
