Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had the (a) World Health Organisation and (b) World Organisation for Animal Health on the risk of zoonotic diseases being spread to humans from fur farms globally, in the context of the H5N1 avian flu outbreak in winter 2022.

Fur farming is banned in England. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not been involved in any discussions with the World Health Organization or the World Organisation for Animal Health specifically on the general risk of zoonotic disease spread from fur farms globally.

UKHSA continues to work closely with animal health colleagues at the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Animal and Plant Health Agency as well as international partners to assess any specific risks that are identified globally which would have potential implications to the United Kingdom public health.