Jimmy’s Farm and Wildlife Park has said it is “delighted” to announce that it has tested negative for avian influenza (bird flu), after a suspected case forced its doors shut earlier today (Tuesday, November 22).
“We are delighted to announce that we do not have an outbreak of avian influenza,” a spokesperson has said.
“Our restrictions have been lifted and we are now able to reopen.”
The farm and park will be back open tomorrow (Wednesday, November 23).
“We would like to thank our hardworking team and the swift actions taken by the Defra (The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and APHA (The Animal and Plant Health Agency) inspectors,” the spokesperson added.
Jimmy’s Farm and Wildlife Park
Earlier today, Jimmy’s Farm and Wildlife Park, which is run by well-known TV presenter and farmer Jimmy Doherty, announced it was shutting down temporarily due to a suspected case of bird flu in its exotic birds.
It added that it was implementing biosecurity and control measures as a precaution.
The farm’s location in Ipswich, Suffolk, is a roughly 15 minutes’ drive from the edge of the intersection of three bird flu surveillance zones. These surveillance zones, each of a 10km radius, are for two confirmed bird flu cases in Hadleigh, and one in Needham.
In their recent update with the all-clear news, the farm acknowledged it was fortunate to have tested negative.
“We are currently one of the lucky ones, but many farms and wildlife parks are facing unprecedented outbreaks,” the spokesperson said.
“This [the avian influenza outbreak] is challenging the poultry industry in ways we’ve never experienced or seen before.”
The UK is currently facing its largest-ever outbreak of the disease.
“We call on the government to take urgent action to change their approach to avian influenza and save people’s livelihoods,” it added.
