Shoppers have been warned of a "big, big shortage" of British free range turkeys this Christmas due to bird flu.
Half of the free range turkeys produced for Christmas in the UK have already been killed in the bird flu epidemic, according to the chief executive of the British Poultry Council. Richard Griffiths told the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee : "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."
Total UK turkey production for Christmas was around 8.5 to 9m but around a million had been culled or died from bird flu. Asked what this means 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."
