UK Market Poultry Sales Halted

UK - Hatherleigh Market has cancelled all its poultry sales until further notice.The decision follows a notice by the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs or Defra on February 3 which has banned all "markets, bird fairs and shows in England, Wales and Scotland".
calendar icon 16 February 2007
clock icon 2 minute read

The decision follows an outbreak of the H5N1 virus at a Bernard Matthews farm in Holton, Suffolk, on February 1.

Hatherleigh Market owner and manager Greg Vick said he contacted Defra at the weekend, about running the Tuesday poultry market.

"I haven't heard anything else from Defra other than what's on the website - it's a question of watch this space.

"Hopefully we can get back to business soon."

Mr Vick, 41, and of Hatherleigh, estimates that 25 to 30% of Tuesday's market is based on poultry sales, and they "attract a lot of people to the day".

The discovery of the potentially fatal virus in Suffolk is the first reported case of its kind in the UK.

Almost 160,000 turkeys were culled at the farm two weekends ago to prevent the virus from spreading.

It is not known how the virus got to England, although a similar strain to that found in Holton was also discovered at a farm in Hungary last month.

Source: North Devon Journal

© 2000 - 2024 - Global Ag Media. All Rights Reserved | No part of this site may be reproduced without permission.