Fears of a shortage of Christmas geese as the UK's biggest producer is hit by bird flu

Buyers could face shortages of British geese this Christmas after the UK's biggest producer was reportedly hit by several outbreaks of bird flu.

The UK has suffered what authorities have said is the 'biggest outbreak of bird flu on record' over the past year, with more than 140 outbreaks reported in England alone.

The situation is particularly serious in Norfolk and Suffolk after 14 outbreaks in the past month alone.

Gressingham Foods, based in Suffolk , which raises seasonal ducks, geese and turkeys, has been particularly hard hit, industry insiders say, after five outbreaks at its sites in the two counties over the past week. Thousands of birds are believed to have been culled.

As the main supplier to UK supermarkets, there are fears that the availability of UK goose this Christmas could be severely affected, with about 250,000 geese eaten during the holiday season. The goose is normally made available to retailers from the end of October.

Although there are on-farm options for the public to seek out the goose for Christmas retailers will likely have to look into imports, said Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British Poultry Council (BPC).

There are other duck producers based in UK, but Gressingham Foods is the UK's only year-round supplier of duck meat.

Gressingham Foods did not respond to requests for comment, but UK supermarkets played down any concerns about the availability of duck or goose meat.

“Retailers are very good at managing supply chains in difficult conditions. They are monitoring the continued spread of bird flu and have asked the government to take all appropriate action to reduce its spread to ensure continued supply for customers,” said Andrew Opie, Food and Sustainability Manager at the British Retail Consortium.

Bird flu is probably carried by migrating birds, spread by direct contact or through contaminated bodily fluids and faeces. It can also spread through contaminated food and water or through dirty vehicles, clothes and shoes.

In the event of a confirmed outbreak, all birds survivors of a flock are culled, with farmers compensated for healthy birds.

Across Europe, 47.7 million birds have been culled since last fall and many thousands more wild birds have died. More than 100,000 ducks are believed to have been slaughtered on farms owned by Gressingham Foods earlier this year during previous bird flu outbreaks.

The situation is likely to get worse with the beginning of the autumn migration and the number of wild birds wintering in Europe increases the risk of epidemics.

In previous years, cases plummeted in the summer, but this year outbreaks have continued, with experts suspecting that highly pathogenic variants of bird flu are now endemic in wild birds, creating a year-round risk of infection.

< p class="dcr-1vtk2mf">The British Poultry Council has called for a mandatory UK-wide housing order for all poultry birds. breeding "as soon as possible in order to prioritize the well-being of our farmers, the viability of their businesses and the safety of all birds".

Veterinary trials to test bird flu vaccines have started in France and the Netherlands, but there are question marks over the effectiveness of bird flu vaccinations and whether vaccinated birds can still spread the disease if infected.