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Almost 1.8 million farmed and captive birds have been culled in the past three months because of the spread of avian flu across the UK, the BBC has learned. There have been 33 outbreaks of the virus on farms so far, but the risk to humans remains low, with chicken and eggs safe to eat if properly cooked, the government says.
Concerns have been raised about the impact bird flu is having on farmers’ mental health, with one saying she was “terrified” of it returning. The government said it had acted quickly to cull all poultry on infected premises “to protect Britain’s food security”, but recognised the devastating impact it was having.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the 1.78 million birds culled since the first outbreak on 5 November was a “small proportion” of the industry’s total production, which is about 20 million birds a week.
A farmer, Lucy Sanderson, who was affected in 2021, says people are not aware of the mental health impact culling birds had on farmers. “It was awful. I cried for a week – and I thought I was a strong person… I am terrified of it returning.”
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