Consumers have been warned of a “big, big shortage” of British free range turkeys for Christmas. Half of the free range turkeys produced for the festive period in the UK have already been killed by the bird flu epidemic, British Poultry Council chief executive Richard Griffiths told the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
Total UK turkey production for Christmas is around 8.5 to 9 million birds, but around a million had been culled or died from bird flu, he said. Mr Griffiths added: “The usual amount of free range birds grown for Christmas is around 1.2 to 1.3 million. We have seen around 600,000 of those free range birds being directly affected.”
Asked what that might mean for prices this Christmas, Mr Griffiths said “I don’t know. That’s really a question for retailers. We don’t know how the gaps within retail are going to be filled at this point.”
