Ted Wright, Chairman of BPC said: "This major piece of policy has massive implications for poultry farmers and processors.

"Animal disease outbreaks have rarely been out of the headlines in the last two years, and today is a chance for us to take a step back from events on the ground and assess the management and cost in a rounded way."

The government’s responsibility and cost sharing discussions with the livestock sector are developing, with the issue of a formal consultation in late December last year and a series of regional workshops over the coming weeks.

"Many discussions have focused on TB or Foot and Mouth Disease in larger livestock, but the BPC seminar today focuses on what the impact is for the poultry sector, which provides nearly half the meat consumed in the UK," continued Mr. Wright.

The government has a vision for responsibility sharing, with different legal structures to facilitate this. On cost sharing, the agenda has moved on from only disease to looking at the funding of all animal health and welfare.

Various charging mechanisms and disease categorisations are part of the consultation, along with how other countries are doing it around the world.