Could bird flu affect flocks in UK?
Bird flu can affect all birds including waterfowl. There was an outbreak of H5N1 flu in wild migratory birds which travelled as far as France. Experts have expressed concern that these infected birds could migrate to the UK and pass the disease on to our chickens. Bird flu could also be spread by the international trade of live chickens. This is why the European Community has banned the import of live poultry and feathers from Turkey where over 1,000 cases of avian flu have been reported. However Sir Liam Donaldson, the Government’s top medical advisor said that the development of a new human flu virus was inevitable. “Why is that inevitable? Well, because it’s happened before. These things come in natural cycles, every 10 to 40 years the flu virus mutates into a strain we haven’t got natural immunity to.” What should I do if I find a dead wild bird? The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) says you should contact them if you find a dead wild swan, or a group of d
