Fight or Flight The Impact of Avian Influenza

Avian Influenza (AI), Bird Flu, has had catastrophic effects on poultry farms up and down the country. Supermarket shelves have been left empty or stocked with foreign replacements, meanwhile, poultry farmers and egg suppliers have been left scrambling for an income.

Bird flu has been spreading throughout the country from migrating birds that come over in the summer months. It has historically been noted that the flu is killed off when temperatures rise, however last year was an exception and the flu continued to spread, infecting hundreds of thousands of birds.

It was recommended that increased biosecurity be taken by all poultry holders. As of 17th of October 2022, England, Wales and Ireland was declared an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ). This meant that all bird keepers had to adhere to strict biosecurity measures by keeping the birds inside to prevent the spread of avian influenza across the country. There isn’t a requirement to house birds in Scotland, however this is under constant review.

If your poultry farm has had confirmed cases of avian influenza, any surviving birds will be culled. Your holding will be placed under strict restrictions affecting movements on and off the site. Costs relating to cleaning and disinfection fall directly on the farmer.

Insurance policies for poultry farmers are practically non-existent. It is the government which is providing support for farmers affected by bird flu. A sliding scale is used to determine the compensation value, with the age of the hen taken into consideration.

Turkey production was severely impacted at the end of last year meaning that farmers were left out of pocket for that year. This is all the more significant for these farmers as they have only one crop of birds per year. Once a case of bird flu is confirmed, the whole flock has to be culled. These farmers are at the highest risk of maximum financial pain.

Many commercial egg units have had to close their doors because of the disease. Around half a million laying hens have either died from the disease or had to be culled in Scotland. This equates to around 8% egg production loss in Scotland and 2.5% production loss UK wide. Scotland has a higher production % loss as it has less commercial layer units compared to the rest of the UK. There has been controversy surrounding food security in supermarkets and the lack of supply of eggs coming through. Supermarkets have been claiming that the increase in Avian Flu has meant that they haven’t had the quantity of eggs to meet demand, justifying their reason for outsourcing their supply from foreign producers.

However, it is understood from suppliers that the reason as t egg supply has diminished in the UK is due to historic poor returns. Retailers refused to put up pric the shops the last couple of y regardless of the ever increasing input costs that the farmers w facing. Farmers were once again squeezed prior to Avian Influenza and ultimately couldn’t oper profitable business. Many egg producers then decided the no longer buy their next bat laying birds in a bid to mak supermarkets realise they c operate any longer. As a result, ther are 7 million fewer laying hens in the UK than there were 5 years ago

In the next year, we expect continued shortages of eggs in supermarkets. In terms of Bir there has been only one case in the last 6/7 weeks which was a low pathogenic strain. Biosecurity could not be more important, making sure there are movement records, removing clothing once out of the area of the hens, increased traceability. Responsible bodies are looking into a poultry register whereby hens from age one upwards would have to be on a register showing their location to try and target areas when the disease risk level is high. The NFU and the Government are working together to try to alleviate the immense risk to poultry farms and are considering an insurance policy for egg producers. n

Beth Dandie 01224 860710