Updated: Bird flu confirmed at farm in Lancashire, 10,000 pheasants being culled

The H5N8 strain of avian flu was confirmed by the UK’s chief veterinary officer.

A number of the farmed breeding pheasants at the premises in Pilling, on the Fylde Coast, have died and those remaining will be culled.

A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place around the infected area to limit the risk of the disease spreading.

A full investigation is under way to determine the source of the infection.

Public Health England has said the risk to public health from the virus is “very low”, while the Food Standards Agency said bird flu did not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers.

It comes after Defra confirmed a case of bird flu in a flock of about 6,000 turkeys at a farm in East Lindsey, Lincolnshire, on January 16.

Earlier in the month, the strain was also discovered in two small backyard flocks of chickens and ducks on a premises near Settle in North Yorkshire, and Carmarthenshire, south west Wales.

An avian influenza prevention zone was declared on December 6 and will remain in place until February 28.

It requires owners to keep poultry and captive birds indoors or take steps to separate them from wild birds.