Friday 28 October 2022

AN OUTBREAK of bird flu affecting commercially-housed poultry has been confirmed close to Beverley. The announcement by the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) includes the imposition of a 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone around the premises until further notice.

DEFRA says the poultry on the premises will be humanely culled. The UK Health Security Agency has said avian influenza is primarily a disease of birds and the risk to people’s health is very low. Under the new control zones, keepers of poultry and captive birds are required to keep detailed records and undertake other safety measures.

The surveillance zone covers a 10km area stretching from Driffield and including almost all of Beverley This latest outbreak follows a similar case near Goole; the vast majority of recent bird flu outbreaks, however, have been in East Anglia.

WORK on major improvements to the facilities at Beverley Racecourse are under way, with the project due for completion ahead of next year’s racing season, due to start in April. Old stables, in place on The Westwood for 70 years, have been demolished and will be replaced by 101 new stables, alongside new veterinary facilities and horse showers and a new stable staff canteen.

A racecourse spokesperson said that because the old stable roofs were made from asbestos, this had to be removed by specialist contractors and then disposed of. All the rubble from the walls is being crushed and kept on site to make a solid base for the new stables.

Work in progress at Beverley Racecourse on The Westwood