Bird flu: More than 200 rare and exotic birds culled in Maldon

Claire said private bird collectors should be treated differently to commercial premises

A woman has criticised the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) after 206 rare and exotic birds from her collection were culled.

Canaries, parrots and large cockerels were killed after avian flu was detected at the site in Maldon, Essex.

The owner said she was waiting to hear from Defra's Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), as to whether her 43 remaining birds must also be culled.

An APHA spokesperson said it appreciated "the distress" caused.

Claire, who owned the collection and wanted to keep her surname private for security reasons, said the culling was "awful".

"It was stressful for us, stressful for the birds and especially stressful for the ones that we could save because obviously they could see what was happening," she said.

Claire's tragopan pheasant was one of 206 birds that were culled

Claire's sun conure parakeet was one of 43 birds that were "exempted" from the cull

Claire said her family had kept a private collection of rare and exotic birds for 80 years.

The APHA said positive results were confirmed within her flock on 9 October, and the birds were culled a week later.

The agency said it "exempted" 43 "rare breeds" made up of nine ducks and 34 parakeets, but if further tests came back positive they would be culled.

Entire flocks are typically culled as a precaution, including healthy birds, and owners are often entitled to compensation.

Red-breasted geese were among the birds culled

Claire said private collections should not be treated the same as commercial premises.

"There is nothing in the guidance [specifically] for private collections, it's all for commercial premises and this needs to be changed," she told BBC Essex.

"Something needs to be written up, for private collections with endangered species, so that we're treated differently."

• Poultry firm calls for bird flu vaccinations

• Bird flu: Poultry owners in East preparing for 'flockdown'

• Record avian flu outbreak sees 48m birds culled in UK and EU

The UK and the EU has witnessed the largest outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) on record, with more than 190 cases confirmed.

Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex were placed in an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone last month, after a series of outbreaks.

Norfolk, Suffolk and most of Essex was still subject to a regional avian influenza prevention zone, which means owners must keep the birds inside

A spokesperson for the APHA said: "We appreciate the distress this awful disease can have on bird keepers which is why we respond and act swiftly in all reported cases.

"The avian influenza prevention zone across the UK means that all bird keepers have a legal responsibility to implement stringent biosecurity measures to keep their own birds safe and limit further spread."