Businesses in anxious wait over impacts of bird flu disruption

Poultry businesses in and around the 10km surveillance zone, which has been established around the farm at the centre of the outbreak, have spoken of their uncertainty as they wait to see what long-term restrictions they face.
By Ben Barnett
Published 19th Nov 2014, 02:00 BST
Signs in the village as preparations begin for a cull of ducks at a farm in Nafferton, East Yorkshire operated by Cherry Valley after a bird flu outbreak. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday November 18, 2014. Government vets are investigating if the case of "highly pathogenic" H5 avian flu, found on the farm near Driffield is linked to a similar case in the Netherlands. See PA story ENVIRONMENT Flu. Photo credit should read: Lynne Cameron/PA WireSigns in the village as preparations begin for a cull of ducks at a farm in Nafferton, East Yorkshire operated by Cherry Valley after a bird flu outbreak. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday November 18, 2014. Government vets are investigating if the case of "highly pathogenic" H5 avian flu, found on the farm near Driffield is linked to a similar case in the Netherlands. See PA story ENVIRONMENT Flu. Photo credit should read: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire
Signs in the village as preparations begin for a cull of ducks at a farm in Nafferton, East Yorkshire operated by Cherry Valley after a bird flu outbreak. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday November 18, 2014. Government vets are investigating if the case of "highly pathogenic" H5 avian flu, found on the farm near Driffield is linked to a similar case in the Netherlands. See PA story ENVIRONMENT Flu. Photo credit should read: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire

Farmer Tim Warkup, 50, keeps 30,000 free range birds over two sites in North Frodingham, about 9km from Nafferton and within the surveillance zone, and supplies around 60,000 eggs every two days to Scottish-based Noble Foods.

“Initially there’s a bit of panic until people know what’s what,” Mr Warkup said. “At the moment we can’t get any eggs away and we can’t get any lorries in to get more egg trays. Our eggs were picked up on Sunday. We don’t know when it will happen next.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Vehicles visiting T Soanes and Son, which processes poultry at Middleton-on-the-Wolds, 7km outside the surveillance zone, are being disinfected as they enter the site and some of its lorries have been re-routed around the zone.

Nigel Upson, the firm’s general manager, said: “All our chicken farms are outside of the exclusion zones but one of the sites is close to the border of the surveillance zone. We have a contractor within the exclusion zone but the birds are not due to come to us until mid-December so we hope that by them some form of movement will be allowed under the restrictions that get put in place.”

East Riding of Yorkshire Council officers visited all registered poultry farms in restricted zones yesterday to provide advice.

Meanwhile, John Vernam, managing director of UK Operations at Cherry Valley which owns the affected farm, said: “There is complete traceability in the supply chain and any eggs that have left the site will be tested and the necessary procedures will be undertaken.”

Related topics:Wolds