Avian flu and its impact on poultry farming discussed in Westminster
The crisis facing the poultry issue was taken to parliament in an event hosted by South Shropshire MP Philip Dunne.
Mr Dunne welcomed the National Farmers' Union Poultry Board to Westminster to discuss current sector challenges with Members of Parliament.
Mark Spencer MP, Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries, attended to meet producers including those from Shropshire, Herefordshire, & Worcestershire.
Mr Dunn said the UK was experiencing its most severe outbreak of avian influenza. He said the notifiable disease was affecting captive birds and poultry, and spreading through wild bird populations across the country.
Other pressures facing the poultry sector include unprecedented energy and feed costs and increases in other input costs including fuel, labour, pullets, and packaging.
The NFU is working with the government to ensure a viable British poultry sector, following introduction of mandatory housing measures for all poultry and captive birds in England by the Chief Veterinary Officer, Christine Middlemiss.
She recently attributed good biosecurity on poultry farms as a contributory factor to the current decreasing number of avian flu cases.
Mr Dunne said: “These are very challenging times for all involved in poultry, from those who keep a few chickens at home to the commercial sector with its significant presence in South Shropshire. I was pleased to have been able to help 25 MPs meet local producers from across the country who are members of the NFU Poultry Board to understand more about these issues. These include the impact of avian flu and the compensation scheme, the critical importance of biosecurity measures and the risk to viability from feed and energy cost pressures.
"The Government has already taken welcome steps to improve the compensation scheme for commercial poultry producers when a flock is infected, which has helped affected growers since the changes were introduced last autumn."
