Poultry breeders are missing out on export revenues due to cleansing legislation regarding avian flu. Legislation states that after an outbreak, litter from poultry sheds must be stacked up and composted for 42 days. This should be followed by two thorough cleansing and ‘de-greasing’ sessions of the sheds seven days apart. Procedure then states that the houses should be locked up and left empty for 21 days.

The problem is that the UK will not regain its Avian Influenza free status until three months after the 21-day lock-up period. In the meantime a number of ‘third’ (non-EU) countries will not accept poultry or poultry products from the UK. Others are taking some UK poultry but not from the geographical area of the outbreak.

According to NFU poultry chairman Charles Bourn, this has already cost the poultry breeding industry nearly £25 million in lost exports of parent, grand-parent and great-grand-parent stock. “It is a huge problem that nobody has an answer to,” he said.