Poultry farmers are appealing to the government to allow them vaccinate their flocks against the devastating bird flu virus, spreading across the United Kingdom.
Vaccinating poultry against avian influenza is currently not allowed in the UK, because the government says strong biosecurity measures are the most effective ways of curbing the spread.
But a farmer, who has previously lost 30% of his flock to bird flu says without a vaccine, it was only a matter of time before the flu spreads, uncontrollably.
There have so far been 25 farm outbreaks of bird flu, since the annual winter season began in October
A bird flu prevention zone enforcing strict hygiene standards around domesticated birds, has been declared for England, Wales and Scotland.
According to the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), the danger to people remains low, and chicken and eggs are safe to eat when properly cooked.
Defra has established a cross-government and poultry industry group to investigate the potential use of vaccinations, and its report will be published later this year. But poultry growers complain that things are proceeding too slowly.
There have so far been 25 farm outbreaks of bird flu since the annual winter recording season began in October.
In comparison, between October 2021 and January 2022, during the UK’s worst outbreak, there had been more than 70 cases in poultry or other captive birds.
