Thousands of turkeys to be culled amid three more bird flu outbreaks

Government vets confirmed a highly-pathogenic strain of avian influenza had infected commercial poultry at two different premises near Attleborough on Saturday (October 1).

DEFRA confirmed a bird flu outbreak at a premises near Attleborough on October 1 (Image: DEFRA)

Defra says all poultry on the infected premises, will be humanely culled, and enforced a 3km 'protection zone' and 10km 'surveillance zone' around the sites.

It is understood more than 10,000 turkeys and 2,500 geese will need to be culled at one of the premises and 8,500 breeding ducks at the other.

Defra confirmed a highly-pathogenic strain of bird flu in a premises near Attleborough on October 1 (Image: DEFRA)

In Norfolk, there have now been four outbreaks at premises in the Attleborough area along with ones near Holt and Northwold.

Saturday also saw an outbreak among chickens confirmed at a a premises near Bury St Edmunds, where a similar protection and surveillance zone has been declared.

A bird flu outbreak was confirmed at a premises near Bury St Edmund on October 1 (Image: DEFRA)

The chickens have been humanely culled.

A previous outbreak had already been discovered at another Bury St Edmunds premises, while other Suffolk cases have been identified near Lowestoft, Hadleigh and near Honington, where two premises were affected.

The new outbreaks are the latest blow for the East Anglia poultry industry, with 12 cases now confirmed in Norfolk and Suffolk since the start of September.

Thousands of commercial chickens, geese and turkeys have been culled, while wild bird colonies have also been hit.

Last week, new restrictions for all poultry keepers - from commercial farms to backyard hobbyists - were introduced.

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.

Although avian influenza can be devastating for wild birds and poultry flocks, the UK Health Security Agency advise the risk to public health is very low and the Food Standards Agency says avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk.

Poultry keepers and members of the public should report dead wild birds to the Defra helpline on 03459 33 55 77 and keepers should report suspicion of disease to APHA on 03000 200 301.

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