Staffordshire turkey farmer confident precautions will prevent shortage of birds for Christmas dinner

Robert Stewart-Cartmail, a spokesperson of Staffordshire Turkeys in Lawnhead, talked about growing concerns: "There is a bit of off-put by the whole thing honestly, which is completely unnecessary.

"There is always a worry surrounding everything, but there is no real possibility of transfer between bird to human - but there will always be a concern."

Some strains of bird flu can pass from birds to people, but this is extremely rare. It usually requires close contact with an infected bird.

Rising concerns surround the availability of British-grown, free-range turkeys over the Christmas period, with one case of bird flu usually meaning a whole flock has to be culled.

Mr Stewart-Cartmail said: "We are taking the utmost precautions in protecting the birds, we only have one member of the team feeding the birds, we have restricted who gets access to these birds to that one person.

"I don't think there will be any threat of a shortage of turkeys this Christmas."

Reports released by the British Poultry Council said that over half of the free-range turkeys produced for Christmas in the UK have already been killed due to avian influenza.

British Poultry Council chief executive Richard Griffiths said: "The usual amount of free range birds grown for Christmas is around 1.2 to 1.3 million. We have seen around 600,000 of those free-range birds being directly affected."

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: "These outbreaks are understandably very concerning for the impact they have on individual turkey farmers and we are working closely with them to provide the support they need.”

New legislation, implemented on November 7, legally requires that bird keepers house their poultry indoors to tackle the rise in the virus.

More than 200 cases of avian influenza have been confirmed since late October 2021, with one farmer calling the situation "unbelievably bad".

Berkshire-based poultry farmer, Tom Copas, said: "Our entire business depends on the Christmas market, if we were to get bird flu, we would lose everything."

However, farmers of Staffordshire Turkeys believe that through proper care, farmers need not worry.

Robert said: "It is spreading fast between birds, but we have gone this long with no issues yet.

"We will just keep going as well as we can. Hopefully, this is something that will just come and go."

The epidemic comes as reports, released by the British Poultry Council said that over half of the free-range turkeys produced for Christmas in the UK have already been killed due to avian influenza.

British Poultry Council chief executive, Richard Griffiths said: "The usual amount of free range birds gown for Christmas is around 1.2 to 1.3 million. We have seen around 600,000 of those free-range birds being directly affected."

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: "These outbreaks are understandably very concerning for the impact they have on individual turkey farmers and we are working closely with them to provide the support they need.”