Wealthy British families could be forced to eat a roast beef or roast pork this Christmas after the avian flu outbreak left high-end slaughterhouses struggling to source organic, hand-raised turkeys and chickens.
The disease particularly hit free-range flocks that were exposed to infection from wild birds, until the British government ordered last week that all birds be kept indoors. Many luxury slaughterhouses are now rushing to secure poultry or suggesting other meats for Christmas dinner to customers.
London butcher Ginger Pig told customers on Tuesday it was “looking forward to a Christmas with alternatives to turkey, duck, goose and 100-day-old chickens” after its Lincolnshire supplier WE Botterill & Son lost his entire flock of 18,000 birds. Ginger Pig, which has eight branches, suggested customers consider a roast beef or pork.
Chris Godfrey, of Godfreys Butchers in London’s Highbury, where a free-range turkey costs more than £100 (£100), said he could offer only about half the normal number of turkeys, geese, ducks and chickens. Natal after four of its five agricultural suppliers suffered outbreaks of the disease.
He warned turkey buyers that the birds they ordered would not be slaughtered for another three weeks and that orders would be refunded if bird flu hit the remaining batches.
“The situation is really dire,” he said. “We sell high-quality, outdoor-raised animals that live outside and graze. Intensive farms aren’t hit as hard because they can have closed sheds.”
Godfrey said orders were coming in at a “crazy” pace, but that farmers had called him in tears to report the destruction of their herds. “Many of these farmers have been so badly hit that they will never produce again,” he said.
Danny Lidgate, of C. Lidgate butchers in Holland Park, said high-end slaughterhouses were in “Russian roulette” as they waited to see which remaining herds would sicken and be culled before they were ready for slaughter.
The British Poultry Council said the current strain of avian flu appeared to hit more birds than chickens, adding to the pressure for Christmas. He said last week that 40% of all free-range turkeys were culled.
John Mettrick, chairman of Q Guild, an industry group for high-end butchers, said farmers were particularly hard hit in the east of England, an area frequented by migratory birds. London butchers who buy from there have also been affected, he said.
“Some butchers put in their Christmas orders that if something happens [com a ave]customers need to be aware that they may have to take an alternative meat,” he said.
John Wood of Wood’s Farm Fresh Turkeys in North West Lancashire said he had been supplying turkeys to butchers and farm markets in Liverpool, Manchester and the Lake District before losing his 4,000 birds at the end of October. “Any business you’ve built over years is gone in one day,” he said. “I’m going to have to fight a lot.”
On the other hand, supermarkets said their supply is relatively secure. Sainsbury’s chief executive, Simon Roberts, said this month: “The good news is that about a third of our turkey volume comes from frozen, and we ordered more turkeys this year than we sold last year. to fill in the gaps as much as we can.
“While turkey remains a key part of our Christmas offering, more and more customers are looking elsewhere. There has been a real shift towards ham and beef in recent years.”
Contributed to Jonathan Eley. Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves.
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