Avian Influenza has been a significant problem in the UK since 2021 and it’s no coincidence that the latest outbreak comes as the shooting industry gears up for the pheasant and partridge shooting seasons.
In August 2022 the HSA revealed shocking undercover footage of gamebirds being reared at Shelford Pheasantries in Newark on Trent. The appalling conditions at the farm failed to comply with DEFRA’s own Code of Practice for the Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes.
Dead pheasants at the farm were burnt in piles, there was dirty water which was accessible to wild birds and piles of faeces beneath the cramped cages, all of which are things that can greatly increase the chances of Avian Influenza spreading.
On 20th August 2025, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) issued a press release warning of heightened Avian Influenza risks. The warning is particularly aimed at “those involved in running a shoot or game bird rearing.”
There has been a spike in cases in areas “with significant gamebird industry,” and this has resulted in additional biosecurity measures being put in place for these areas. There are already mandatory biosecurity measures in place for bird owners across Great Britain and these include cleansing and disinfecting footwear and ensuring food and water stations are not accessible to wild birds.
On the Animal and Plant Health Agency Influenza map, there is currently a 3km protection zone in Norfolk and there are four 3km protection zones in and around Exmoor and Dartmoor in the Southwest of England. This means that birds in this area must remain enclosed at all times to prevent them having contact with wild birds and to further reduce the risk of the disease spreading further. The release of gamebirds is not permitted in any avian influenza disease control zone.
In addition to the national biosecurity measures, DEFRA, in their latest press release, detailed further measures that need to be taken by gamebird keepers, these include:
When the initial Avian Influenza outbreak occurred in 2021 it coincided with an outbreak in the Loire Valley, France. This area bred an extensively large number of gamebirds, which for years had been imported to the UK for bloodsports. A further outbreak in France which was detected on the 17th of May 2022 resulted in 16 million farmed birds, including poultry, being culled.
Now four years on from the initial outbreak and the UK is still battling with Avian Influenza, as these intensely bred gamebirds are being released just to be shot. Bloodsports enthusiasts will speak about “biodiversity management” and “rural economy” but just as with hunting, these are merely smokescreens to deflect from the facts that clearly prove shooting is detrimental to our biodiversity and it is threatening wild UK bird species.
Read the full press release from DEFRA: www.gov.uk
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