I assume the hon. Member means both wild birds and commercial poultry. It is extremely difficult to give an accurate estimate of birds that have died as a result of avian influenza infection. Although some birds tested positive for avian influenza by laboratory tests, they may not have died as a result of the disease (e.g. wild birds may have died as a result of predation, cold weather or a number of other natural causes).
The following table shows the number of commercial poultry, by species, that were culled as a result of DEFRA's disease control policy, or, wild birds that were submitted as part of the Avian Influenza surveillance programme and that were positive for AI by laboratory testing. In both cases, not all birds would have died from AI infection. Many of the commercial poultry that were culled would have been infected but alive and many not infected at the time of culling, but killed to manage the risk of disease spread because they were part of the same epidemiological unit and had been clearly exposed to infection. Many wild bird and water fowl species may act as carriers for the virus but do not show clinical signs of illness so it is not possible to provide or estimate the number which may be killed by the virus in the wild.
This information is based on the number of commercial poultry culled during outbreaks of Avian Influenza since July 2006 and the number of AI-positive wild birds submitted to the Veterinary Laboratories Agency for testing as part of the on-going AI surveillance programme.
Location Number of wild birds Number of poultry Cornwall 0 0 Each constituency in Cornwall 0 0 South West region (Dorset) 11 0 England 14 Turkeys: 193,714 Peacocks: 3 Geese: 4,572 Ducks: 52,118 Laying hens: 24,895 Total birds culled in England in the last two years 275,302
Although the data in this table give an indication of the number of birds killed by AI in the last two years, this number represents a relatively low proportion of the commercial poultry industry. Due to the current high level of vigilance in the poultry industry, suspect Avian Influenza cases are notified very quickly, enabling a rapid response by DEFRA and Animal Health, so we have been able to control this disease quickly and effectively where it is identified in commercial poultry flocks.