Half of free-range Christmas turkeys – around a million birds – have been affected by avian influenza Richard Griffiths has told the EFRA Select Committee. The chief executive of the British Poultry Council (BPC) said the scale of this year’s outbreak was “unlike anything we have seen before. Its intensity poses a risk to UK food producers, and our food supply.”
In an EFRA Committee session on 28 November, Griffiths was joined turkey farmer Paul Kelly, and James Pearce-Higgins of the British Trust for Ornithology to discuss the ongoing impact avian influenza poses to businesses feeding the nation.
Paul Kelly told the committee that “without a vaccine or a compensation scheme that is fit for purpose, farmers are less likely to take the risk of growing poultry.”
Griffiths told MPs British food security and business continuity must be built into measures addressing the impact of avian influenza.
“Risk must be expanded to include commercial viability,” said Griffiths. “The conditions of this outbreak are unlike anything we have seen before. More farms have been affected and because of that the concept of risk has changed. Contingency plans and measures must reflect that change. This is about our businesses, and ultimately our food security. We have to be able to feed ourselves.”
The challenges of avian influenza are exacerbating existing pressures stemming from Brexit, inflation and an ongoing labour shortage, MPs heard. “Production costs have increased up to 18%,” Kelly said.
Griffiths said that in the absence of an SPS agreement, unreciprocated controls on imports in the event of bird flu with EU are putting British producers at a commercial disadvantage. This could be solved under a mutual understanding between UK and EU to alleviate some of the burdens wrapped up in trade to preserve the viability of British businesses keeping food moving.
The British Poultry Council is calling for Government to work with industry on vaccination. Both the national and international poultry industry believes vaccination – if coherently applied to avoid trade disruption – is a long-term solution for living with avian influenza, Griffiths said. Without the political will to back progress, industry faces unanswered questions around the scientific, logistical, and regulatory challenges wrapped up in vaccination.