Bird flu insurance 'near impossible' for farmers

Millions of birds had to be culled during the last major avian flu outbreak

An MP has warned that poultry farmers are leaving the industry because they find it "near impossible" to get insurance for bird flu outbreaks.

The virus led to millions of infected birds being culled between 2021 and 2023.

In a debate in Parliament, Labour's South Norfolk MP Ben Goldsborough asked the government to consider creating its own insurance scheme for farmers who could not get cover.

Farming minister Daniel Zeichner said government officials were "in discussions" on what they might be able to do.

He added that it was "an important point and a complicated point".

Speaking after the Westminster Hall debate, Goldsborough said insurance was "a huge problem" for farmers he had spoken to.

"They're either having to pay extortionate premiums now – or insurance companies are just turning around and saying 'no, we're not going to offer you any insurance at all'," he said.

Farmer Mark Gorton said the government's current compensation scheme was "not fit for purpose"

Since the debate, the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency has confirmed the first cases of bird flu in Norfolk this year.

It said the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 was found in a flock of commercial poultry at a premises near Watton, and all the birds would be "humanely culled".

In England, only two other farms have recorded cases of avian flu in 2024.

But farmer Mark Gorton, who lost 100,000 turkeys and chickens during the last major outbreak, said the impact of the virus was "absolutely devastating".

"It's as if the bottom of your world is about to fall out."

Mr Gorton, who runs Traditional Norfolk Poultry, said insurance was often not available for farmers, but criticised the support the industry had received from the government.

"If the compensation that they had to pay us was fit for purpose, then we wouldn't need insurance," he said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it "appreciated the distress that avian influenza can cause all bird keepers who are affected by this awful disease".

"In recognition of this, in October 2022 we changed compensation to ensure swifter payments and earlier certainty about keepers' entitlement to compensation," they added.