A FURTHER 22,000 turkeys will be culled on four more farms on the Suffolk/Norfolk border in a bid to contain bird flu, it emerged today.

A FURTHER 22,000 turkeys will be culled on four more farms on the Suffolk/Norfolk border in a bid to contain bird flu, it emerged today.

The four farms have been identified as being “dangerous” sites by Government vets and the step is being taken as a precautionary measure.

One of the farms is within the three kilometre protection zone in Redgrave, and the other three are thought to be in the restricted zone in Norfolk.

In total, 24,000 turkeys will be culled, bringing the total killed to 30,000 since the H5N1 strain of bird flu was confirmed at Redgrave earlier this week.

Acting chief veterinary officer Fred Landeg said: “At this stage we have not confirmed disease on any of these four premises. This is a precautionary measure taken to prevent any potential spread of the disease.

“I must stress again that poultry keepers in the area must be extremely vigilant, practice the highest levels of biosecurity and report any suspicions of disease to their local animal health office.”

The strain of avian influenza at Redgrave Park Farm, near Diss, was confirmed yesterday as the highly pathogenic H5N1 type.

This strain is similar to that found in Germany and the Czech Republic during the summer and a full epidemiological investigation into the source of the outbreak is underway, Defra said.

Meanwhile, the last of the 6,500 birds on the infected rearing site at Redgrave Park farm was being culled today.

Defra began the programme to eliminate bird flu on the farm yesterday after the alarm was raised on Sunday by poultry producer Gressingham Foods, based in Woodbridge, following turkey deaths at the farm.

Defra has confirmed there are more than four million turkeys, chickens, ducks and geese on the GB Poultry Register within the 10km (six mile) surveillance zone around the farm in Redgrave.

There are a further 25 million birds registered in the wider restricted area which covers Suffolk and much of Norfolk.

Suffolk County Council has issued a plea to the county to phone the Defra hotline at the first sign of a dead bird.

Should members of the public discover a lifeless bird in the county, they should call the hotline number on 08459 335577.