Bird flu a 'massive worry' for Wales' poultry farms

"We're keeping everyone off the farm that doesn't need to be on here," says Victoria Shervington-Jones

Bird flu is a "massive worry" for poultry farms, compounding problems due to rising costs, one farmer has said.

Victoria Shervington-Jones, from Country Fresh Eggs in Newport, has welcomed new measures requiring farms to keep birds indoors and separated from wild birds from 2 December.

In Wales, bird flu cases have been found in Anglesey, Gwynedd, Flintshire and Pembrokeshire.

"It's getting closer," Ms Shervington-Jones told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"On top of all the other pressures that are going on with a rising cost to the industry, it's just a compounding issue."

• Chicken farmer wants more action on bird flu

She said it was important that Wales followed similar rules put in place in England to try to contain the problem, as have other poultry farmers in Wales.

Victoria Shervington-Jones said vehicles which visited her farm had to follow bio security advice

From 2 December, it will be a legal requirement in Wales for all bird keepers to keep birds indoors, or otherwise separate from wild birds.

Keepers must also complete and act upon a bespoke biosecurity review of the premises where birds are kept, according to the Welsh government announcement.

Ms Shervington-Jones explained how sheds housing almost 40,000 birds have been secured to prevent wild birds from entering, while staff also wore bio security outfits to prevent carrying the virus inside.

"We're keeping everyone off the farm that doesn't need to be on here," she said.