Mr Wood and other farmers have called on the UK government to introduce a bird flu vaccine for poultry. While vaccination is permitted in some licensed zoos, it is not available to farmers, and the government says that while it can help reduce the number of deaths, some vaccinated birds would still be able to transmit the virus.

British health authorities said on Monday they had detected a case of the H5N1 bird flu in a person in central England but added that the risk to the wider public remained "very low".

Bird flu has hit the nation’s poultry flocks hard and as outbreaks are discovered, one of the only weapons farmers have is culling entire flocks of birds. The results so far have not been great. According to estimates,

Poultry keepers have been reminded to keep good biosecurity to avoid an outbreak of bird flu on the island. An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) with mandatory biosecurity measures was put in place across England and Scotland on 25 January.