On Friday January 17 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) confirmed the disease – highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 – in the farm’s commercial poultry and put restrictions in place. As well as the 3km protection zone a 10km surveillance zone has also been declared.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says avian influenza is primarily a disease of birds and the risk to the general public’s health is very low. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.
In a statement, Tibbs Farm confirmed bird flu has been found and thanked customers for their support. “It’s with such sadness that following the last few days of testing to confirm our worst suspicions, it has now been confirmed, our hen flock have contracted avian influenza (bird flu), a virus spread by wild birds. As such, our entire flock has had to be humanely culled, needless to say it’s pretty devastating news.”
There have been 19 confirmed cases of bird flu in England since November. The Udimore case is the first outside a much larger protection zone covering East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
At present East Sussex County Council says there is no need to report dead birds unless a large number of them are found in one place.
There’s more advice and guidance on bird flu in this week’s Nature section in Rye News.
Image Credits: Animal & Plant Health Agency , Defra .