A partner in a poultry company has been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £28,000 for offences relating to an avian influenza (bird flu) outbreak.
49-year-old Daniel Mathison of Mathison (Farmers) Leven, which commercially rears and slaughters poultry at Southfield Farm, Leven, East Yorkshire and supplies meat under the brand Yorkshire Ducks and Geese, appeared at Beverley Magistrates Court this week.
Mathison pleaded guilty to four offences relating to the bird flu outbreak on the company’s premises and to operating a slaughterhouse without Food Standards Agency (FSA) approval.
He was fined £4000 per offence and ordered to pay an additional £6000 towards costs and a £2000 victim surcharge, totalling £28,000 to be paid within 12 months.
No records of bird deaths
The court heard that no records of bird deaths had been kept when officers from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) visited the farm on April 12, 2023, to investigate a possible bird flu outbreak.
A nationwide compulsory housing order was in place at the time, as well as biosecurity and other measures, when APHA officers discovered the end of the company’s duck-rearing shed was fully open.
A bird flu outbreak was confirmed on the site on April 13, 2023.
Follow-up investigations by officers from public protection at East Riding of Yorkshire Council found slaughtering and meat production activities had expanded such that they were greatly in excess of the permitted limit, above which approval and on-site supervision by the FSA is required.
It was also identified there had been a breach of restrictions preventing the movement of anything onto or from the premises whilst waiting for bird flu test results, by continuing to supply meat to a local restaurant on April,13, 2023.
A further breach of the ongoing restrictions imposed to minimise the risk of disease spreading from the farm occurred on May 31, 2023, when old insulation was removed from the premises.
‘Serious consequences’
During sentencing, the magistrates said these actions could have had wide reaching and “serious consequences” for other farmers, health and the local community.
The actions were considered to be in the high culpability bracket, as Mathison carried on despite warnings and should have known what was required.
Director of housing, transportation and public protection at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Angela Dearing, said it is highly likely that this bird flu outbreak would not have happened if the farm complied with compulsory housing measures to ensure separation from wild birds.
“It is fortunate the outbreak did not spread further when the disease control restrictions were breached,” she said.
“In addition to the catastrophic consequences for this business, the measures required to control the outbreak and prevent it spreading further significantly impacted on other local livestock keepers and the community.
“The outbreak also resulted in substantial financial and resource costs for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), APHA, the council and other partner agencies involved.”
Disease control
Dearing said it is “vitally important” that all livestock keepers play their part and adhere to animal disease control regulations, which are in place to “protect against potentially devastating effects on their own livestock and businesses, animal and public health, and the economy”.
Head of field delivery England at APHA, Aled Edwards, said: “This case demonstrates how our robust enforcement and our effective collaboration with local authorities can bring those guilty of breaches of animal health and welfare legislation to justice.
“I hope the sentence will act as a reminder to others of the importance of these legal requirements in minimising the risk of further spread of disease, and the consequences of not adhering to the rules.
“APHA takes potential breaches of animal health and welfare legislation very seriously and will continue to investigate all allegations.”
