‘Devastating’: Bird flu forces farmer to cull 10,000 Christmas turkeys

A farmer has told of his devastation at being forced to cull his entire flock of 10,000 turkeys destined for UK Christmas dinner tables amid the worst-ever bird flu outbreak.

Steve Childerhouse, 51, who rears the birds on his 35-acre farm, said producers had been “absolutely hammered” by the UK’s worst-ever outbreak of avian flu this year.

And he told families they may struggle to get hold of turkeys and geese this winter as the usual stock levels are “just not going to be there”.

He said: “We are a traditional fresh farm, but even the big people are getting absolutely hammered by this. It’s affecting the whole industry.

“We supply a lot of butchers and farm shops, and we’ve told them we haven’t got any. They’re not selling any turkeys or geese this Christmas as they can’t get them.

“It’s going to have a massive impact on the Christmas market because they’re just not going to be there.”

The UK produces roughly 11 million turkeys every year, but almost one-third of those – 3.5 million – have been culled due to the spread of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus strain in 2022.

And Steve Childerhouse warned farms like his would not even be able to rear birds next Christmas as his premises needs to be left empty for 12 months following the outbreak.

He said: “As it stands with our farm, we won’t be able to produce any poultry on our farm for next Christmas either.

“Because we obviously got it at the end of October, we can’t touch our buildings for 12 months – and we get our birds in June and take them through to Christmas.

“The cleanup cost if you want to bring that forward is so expensive. We have to sit it out.”

Steve Childerhouse, who has spent almost 40 years in the industry, usually allows his turkeys to roam free over a mixture of woodland and grassland on Whews Farm, in Norfolk.

But he said the mass cull during the early autumn had affected him “emotionally and mentally”, and he was left having to find a new job to support his family.

He said: “It was confirmed on 1 October that we had bird flu. It was pretty horrific. Obviously, we started by losing a few birds, and then it built up.

“Emotionally and mentally, it was very tough at that time. Moving forward, financially, it’s a massive hit for us – that’s what our business is.

“We built this business since I was 12 years old. We supply 80 to 90 butchers and farm shops.

“The impact on that is going to be quite tremendous. I’m going to have to go and find a job. We’ve got bills to pay. It’s devastating to be honest, as you can imagine.

“There is compensation, but it’s nowhere near what it should be.”

A government spokesperson said on 28 October that the UK had so far faced 200 cases of bird flu over the past 12 months.

Last week, the chief veterinary officer introduced a national avian influenza prevention zone, meaning bird keepers must have strict biosecurity measures to safeguard flocks.

In addition to this, a regional housing measure remains in place across Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex, where farmers must keep their birds indoors until further notice.

Farming minister Mark Spencer also said producers would now receive compensation prior to a planned cull, while admitting they faced “real pressures”.

He said: “Farmers and poultry producers are facing real pressures as a result of this avian flu outbreak, and we know many are concerned about the impact on their flocks

“We hope the practical solutions announced today will help provide greater financial certainty.

“We very much appreciate the continued cooperation from the sector as we battle this insidious disease and will continue to keep the situation under close review.”

The National Farmers Union has been contacted for comment.

SWNS