Biosecurity

Terry Jermy Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship today, Dame Siobhain. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for securing this timely debate. I commend him on the work that he has done since being elected to this House on key matters in this area. It is a timely debate for my constituency as there is a proposal for a mega-farm at Methwold in South West Norfolk. I and residents are concerned about a number of aspects, not least that intensive farming is contributing to biodiversity loss, as well to as climate change and air and water pollution. Very often such farming practices adversely affect people living nearby, especially because of the health hazard posed by ammonia pollution.

I note with great concern a report commissioned by Compassion in World Farming, which found that the risk of swine and bird flu pandemics could be increased by intensive pig and poultry farming. The farms concentrate significant numbers of confined animals. In the Methwold proposal we are talking about almost a million chickens and 14,000 pigs on one site, increasing biosecurity risks.

That is not the only concern that we face. In 2022-23, as my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk observed, Norfolk was badly affected by avian influenza. In the past few years we have seen an unprecedented outbreak, and more than a fifth of all bird flu cases in England have occurred in Norfolk. I am sure that my hon. Friend, as a Member for the eastern region, knows that our region has 20% of all the UK’s poultry flock, and that such outbreaks can break farms. Government figures show that the average cost to the Government could be between £2 million and £4 million per outbreak. The Government need to prepare for that, and I welcome the measures announced so far. Prevention, as is so often the case, costs less in the long run, whether in public health, for the farming community or at supermarket checkouts.

I am proud to say that the British Trust for Ornithology headquarters is located in Thetford in my South West Norfolk constituency, and its scientific research and dedication are more important than ever before given the biodiversity loss, climate crisis and biosecurity challenges that we face as a country. That research is critical for our understanding.

In Britain I like to think that we are a global leader when it comes to scientific study; that should be championed. I vividly remember walking around the BTO nature reserve in Thetford, and along our river corridors and forests, and seeing scores of dead birds—wild birds primarily. It was absolutely devastating. One could not miss the sheer number of dead birds, which were evident. Avian influenza significantly impacted our wild bird populations across Norfolk and further afield. Given all the other environmental challenges that we face, that was one that we could have done without.

I congratulate the Minister and the whole Government on the work that they are doing to put Britain back on the map when it comes to leading on environmental policy. I know that the Minister is passionate about farming and biosecurity. He is very well respected by farmers in my constituency. He cares passionately about these issues and all farming-related matters. I hope that in summing up he will provide further reassurance for my residents on the points that have been raised.