UK faces ‘big, big shortages’ of free-range Christmas poultry

One poultry farmer said there would be ‘big, big shortages’ of free-range turkeys on shop shelves. Photograph: Tim Hill/Alamy

Half of the free-range poultry grown for Christmas in the UK have died or been culled because of the bird flu epidemic, an industry leader has told MPs.

The British Poultry Council chief executive, Richard Griffiths, told the environment, food and rural affairs committee on Tuesday that free-range poultry had been hit “very, very hard”.