Half of Britain's free range Christmas turkeys lost to bird flu crisis

About half of the free range turkeys and geese reared for Christmas in Britain have either died or been culled due to the country's largest-ever outbreak of avian flu, an industry head said on Tuesday. Giving evidence to parliament's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Griffiths said total turkey production for Christmas in the UK was usually about 8.5 to 9 million birds.

About half of the free range turkeys and geese reared for Christmas in Britain have either died or been culled due to the country's largest-ever outbreak of avian flu, an industry head said on Tuesday. Richard Griffiths, Chief Executive of the British Poultry Council, told lawmakers that British farmers usually produce 1.2 to 1.3 million free range birds for the festive period.

"We have seen around 600,000 of those free range birds being directly affected," he said. Giving evidence to parliament's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Griffiths said total turkey production for Christmas in the UK was usually about 8.5 to 9 million birds. Of these just over one million had died or been culled.

He said he did not know what the impact would be on prices. He said 36% of poultry farms in the UK were now subject to avian flu controls.