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

Around 48m birds have been culled across the UK and the EU in the last year as a result of the largest outbreak of avian flu on record.

In the UK, 161 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) were detected in poultry and captive birds, leading to the culling of 3.2m birds.

That compared to the previous record of 26 cases in 2020/21.

The UK government said the culled birds were a "small proportion" of total production - about 20m birds a week.