 '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.' A third of all UK turkeys have already been culled this year. The UK produces roughly 11 million turkeys every year, but due to the spread of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus strain 3.5mil have been culled in 2022. And Steve warned farms like his own wouldn't 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. Steve with rescue collies Pip and Tilly which he trained to round up birds -){kind=link}
“It’s going to have a massive impact on the Christmas market because they’re just not going to be there,” warned Steve Childerhouse after he was forced to cull 10,000 of his birds
A farmer who was forced to kill his entire flock of 10,000 turkeys has warned that UK Christmas dinner tables may be left empty due to the worst-ever bird flu outbreak.
Steve Childerhouse, 51, rears birds on his 35-acre farm in Norfolk, and said producers had been “absolutely hammered” by the UK’s worst-ever outbreak of avian flu this year.
The usual stock levels of turkeys and geese were “just not going to be there” this winter, the farmer added – leaving families forced to find an alternative to the traditional Christmas roast.
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.