Poultry already dead on cull farm

The 5,500 turkeys at Grove Farm in Botesdale, Suffolk, were among birds on four farms due to be culled as a precautionary measure after Defra assessed they had "dangerous contact" with the initial case of the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus.

But overnight the cull has become one of "slaughter on suspicion" after animal health officials turning up to kill the birds found a number of them already dead.

The premises is within the two-mile protection zone set up around Redgrave Park farm after turkeys there were found to have the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of the disease earlier this week.

The other three premises are outside the six-mile surveillance zone but within the restricted zone which covers Suffolk and most of Norfolk, Defra said.

Culls of poultry are taking place there as a precautionary measure after Defra decided there was a danger the birds had been exposed to the virus by the movement of people from the initial outbreak. They are Stone House Farm in West Harling, Norfolk, Bridge Farm in Pulham, Norfolk, and Hill Meadow in Knettishall, Suffolk.

In all, 22,000 free-range turkeys will be killed, in addition to the 6,500 turkeys, ducks and geese culled at the free-range rearing unit at Redgrave Park farm.

According to Geoffrey Buchanan, operations director of Gressingham Foods subsidiary Redgrave Poultry, which operates all the sites affected, the same staff work at the different farms.

Mr Buchanan said: "There is a direct link between Redgrave Park farm and these four other farms as they share the same farming staff. Each farm is too small for a dedicated staff, so a small team of people runs this cluster of farms."

Chris Kaufman, Unite's national officer for food and agriculture, said the most pressing concern was to isolate and then contain the outbreak. "Taking prompt action should certainly reassure the local population on health grounds and the wider consuming public on food safety grounds," he said.