Episode #60
EP 60 | How resilient is the UK poultry sector to Avian Influenza?
Tom Woolman and Tom Willings are joined by Dr Pablo Alarcon and Dr Mat Hennessey from the Royal Veterinary College to discuss the pressures shaping poultry’s response to avian influenza — and why some of the biggest challenges cannot be addressed through farm biosecurity alone. As part of the Flu Trailmap project, the researchers have mapped poultry supply chains and spoken to people across the industry about their experiences. They explain what this work reveals about the connections between farms, hatcheries, processors and egg packers, and how disruption in one part of the system can affect businesses elsewhere. Insurance is a major part of the conversation, from the difficulty of obtaining cover to whether premiums could better reflect disease risk and biosecurity. The guests also explore an idea raised by interviewees: a levy supported by government and industry to help share the financial risk of outbreaks. They discuss the questions this would raise, including who should contribute, rather than advocating a particular scheme. On planning, the discussion turns to a fundamental question: where will the extra poultry housing come from? Lower broiler stocking densities and the move away from enriched colony cages require more space to maintain domestic production, yet interviewees repeatedly described difficulties securing permission to build or extend. The researchers consider how local planning decisions and national priorities could be brought together more effectively. Finally, they discuss the case for a longer-term poultry strategy, bringing government and industry together to consider where production takes place, how it is financed and how the sector can be better prepared for future disease outbreaks.
