Cull imposed after bird flu discovered

Bird flu has been discovered at a site in North Yorkshire, the government confirmed.

The H5N1 virus was found in commercial poultry at a premises near Pickering on Tuesday, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

It is thought to be the sixth site in North Yorkshire to have a recorded bird flu outbreak since October, following previous finds in Easingwold, Bedale, Thirsk, Elvington and York.

Earlier the owner of Westfield Farms, which supplies pheasant, partridge and duck to the game shooting industry, confirmed the business was the one affected by the outbreak.

Defra said a 3km (1.9-mile) protection zone and a 10km (6.2-mile) surveillance zone had been imposed.

These are routinely declared around the site of an outbreak to limit the spread of the virus.

All poultry birds on the premises would be humanely culled, a spokesperson said.

Avian flu spreads through contaminated feed and water, or through birds' droppings and saliva.

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