Bird flu outbreak triggers fears of Christmas turkey shortage

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 22:44 · Archive

About 30,000 birds will be culled after bird flu was found at a commercial farm in Northumberland.

Bird flu has been found at a large commercial poultry farm near Belford in Northumberland. About 2,000 birds have died at the site and approximately 30,000 more will need to be culled. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has declared a 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone around the premises, with all poultry at the farm to be culled.

Experts have warned there is 'a real risk' that bird flu could affect turkey supplies this Christmas. As the UK enters flu season, it is 'very likely other cases will arise', which could 'reduce turkey availability' ahead of the festive period and potentially lead to empty shelves in supermarkets and butchers nationwide.

Northumberland County Councillor Guy Renner-Thompson told the BBC that 'luckily' there are no other poultry farms in the protection zone. However, he expressed concern that farms could be hit financially if there are further outbreaks, particularly turkey farms in the run-up to Christmas. 'If bird flu gets into those, that's ruined them for the year – because that's their main money-making part of the year,' he said. This is the first confirmed case of bird flu in England this season.

How it is being reported

• Fears grow over Christmas turkey shortage after bird flu outbreak leads to mass cullThe outbreak in Northumberland is the first bird flu case of the season in England and fears have been raised that there could be empty supermarket shelves in the months aheadThe Mirror · 23 Oct, 22:30
• Experts warn of ‘real’ risk of turkey shortage this ChristmasAbout 30,000 birds will need to be culled following the outbreak in Northumberland and experts warn it was likely cases will riseThe Independent · 23 Oct, 16:21

In this story: Northumberland · Belford · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Guy Renner-Thompson · Farne Islands

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem