Bird flu: owner of Wood Farm Shop in Little Hoole discusses pain of bird flu outbreak and why the government needs to act

Last week, the Post reported that Woods Farm Shop in Little Hoole had to temporarily shut due to a confirmed case of bird flu among their turkeys. DEFRA implemented a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone around the premises, and “humanely culled” all its poultry. On Friday (November 4), the family ran business was able to open its farm shop again, but its owner says the emotional effects of the tragedy are difficult to get over, whilst bureaucracy and red tape makes financial recovery even harder.

John Woods, who runs the site alongside his wife Cathy and their children, said: “The whole ordeal was horrendous, it still is. The shop’s back up and running, and we’re really busy, which is good, but getting the farm going again is going to be very, very hard. We want to get cleaned up pretty quick and get on with it, but at the minute they won’t even let me go on my own farm, I can go on to feed the animals, and that's it. We want to take some cows off the farm to the slaughter for the shop but they won’t let us do that.

"Even moving stuff like the muck around has to be done in a certain way to stop the spreading, but it’s already cleared everybody out in this area, as one of the vets said, it’s gone everywhere here, so all this locking down after, it's like shutting the stable door after the horse has gone. We should be allowed to get it into a state where it's safe, as quick as we can, but we can’t because the red tape just stops us doing anything.

"We're stuck between a rock and a hard place. Everything that we want to get on with, we come across a brick wall, that's our problem at the minute. The devastation of losing the turkeys, I don't think’s really hit home yet. We're just trying to scratch a way through but the upset is still there. Mornings are worse, when I go out there, I’m on my own, so it is emotional. Everyone is upset, and now it's happened, we need to do something about it, because it's not just us, it's all over the country.”

Along with other local farmers, John is meeting with his MP Katherine Fletcher this week to discuss the issue of bird flu in Lancashire, including what help farmers can receive, and what action local and central government can do to prevent the spread. He fears the bird flu problem will only keep persisting if nothing is done now, and that the government may only act when it is too late – the worst outcome being that there will be no birds left at all.

John explained: “At the minute, there's nobody talking about what they're going to do, there's no plan is there? I can’t see it going away, the only way of solving it is a vaccine or an antibiotic that will cure it, and there isn’t one. Maybe they're not moving quick enough, or maybe they didn't think it was going to be as bad as it was?

“If nothing changes, it's not just do I want turkeys on the farm again, because I do, it’s am I going to risk having turkeys on the farm again eventually? And the answer will be no, because it's too much of a risk. This financial hit that we're going to take now is going to be a real struggle to get over anyway. Luckily, we have the shop, and that's the only reason that we're going to keep going. We have our heads down and we have a plan, it's just whether they let us do what we want to do."

Woods Farm Shop have been overwhelmed by the support they’ve received from customers, as well as other tradesmen they deal with – some of whom have even offered finanical help. John says they turned these offers down however, as they are hoping the government’s compensation will be enough to get them going again.

John added: “I just want to say thanks to everybody. We've had cards, we've had presents, we've had people coming in, you know, last Sunday morning, my first customer just burst out crying for me. People are amazing, everybody’s devastated for us, I just hope they keep coming!”

The shop has supplied some new turkeys from other local sources for the Christmas season, in the hope it can bolster up their seasonal trade. To find out more visit Woods Farm Shop’s website or Facebook page.