Bird flu yet another blow to countryside

8:09am Tuesday 13th November 2007

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THE farming industry was dealt another blow last night as a new case of bird flu was discovered in turkeys.

• HAVE YOUR SAY: Has the latest bird flu outbreak put you off turkey for Christmas dinner this year?

About 5,000 birds, including ducks and geese, were due to be culled after turkeys tested positive for the H5 strain of the virus on a farm on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, near Diss.

It is not yet known whether the birds were infected with a highly pathogenic form of the disease.

The discovery of the virus on the free-range farm, named by sources as Grange Farm, Redgrave, owned by Gressingham Foods, comes after a summer of misery for the farming industry already hit by foot-and-mouth and blue tongue.

But farming leaders moved to allay concerns that the outbreak would lead to a shortage of Christmas turkeys.

And the Food Standard Agency reassured consumers last night that poultry products remain safe to eat as long as they are properly cooked. Bird flu rarely affects humans and can only be transmitted to people through close contact with infected birds.

The Environment Department said a 3km (1.9 mile) protection zone and a 10km (six mile) surveillance zone had been set up around the premises.

Inside the zones, bird movements have been restricted and all birds must be housed and isolated from wild birds.

Deputy chief veterinary officer Fred Landeg said the cause of the infection was not known and he urged all poultry farmers to remain vigilant.

National Farmers' Union president Peter Kendall said: Obviously this is another huge blow to the farming industry, and we will be working closely with Defra to do all we can to contain and eradicate this disease as quickly as possible."