Bird flu rampant in UK: half of free-range turkeys dead After 17 years on death row: US police killer executed

About half of all free-range turkeys in the UK died of avian flu a few weeks before Christmas, according to a trade association. About 600,000 of the 1.2 million turkeys reared outdoors each season – a Christmas dish popular with many Britons – are affected, the “Times” reported Wednesday, citing information from the British Poultry Council trade association.

Hundreds of thousands of birds had to be culled because of the avian flu. The current outbreak is considered the worst in British history.

However, poultry farmers do not expect there to be a shortage of turkeys during the holiday season, as only a smaller proportion of animals are free-range. A total of approximately nine million turkeys are raised each season. Thanks to special rules because of the avian flu, farmers also allowed the turkeys to be slaughtered and frozen earlier than usual.

The trade association British Retail Consortium has gloomy predictions for the future of free-range turkeys, where the birds are more likely to contract the virus than indoors. The trend is likely toward other production methods, the association’s food expert Andrew Opie said, according to the “Times.” (aeg/sda/awp/dpa)