The dangerous strain (H5N1) of bird 'flu appears to be back (just in time for Christmas) in the UK at Redgrave Park, a stately home with an ornamental lake near Diss on the Norfolk/Suffolk border (http://www.guardian.co.uk/birdflu/story/0,,2210517,00.html). Here, free-range poultry (owned by Gressingham Foods who lease space in the Park) have been allowed to mingle with wild migrants during the day (they are housed inside at night). The RSPB point out that, as no dead wild birds have been found in the location, blaming these animals is a little premature. Since the outbreak occurred, some 5000 turkeys, 1000 ducks and 500 geese have been slaughtered at Redgrave Park. The location is relatively close to the earlier Bernard Matthews outbreak, eventually potentially linked to imported birds from Hungary. There is some speculation that Gressingham Foods had imported some young birds from the Czech Republic where this strain of the disease is also found. Exclusion zones have been set up and birds culled (just in case) at nearby farms visited by workers who frequent Redgrave Park. The timing could not be worse given the economic importance of Christmas poultry sales.
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