Bird flu: Woodhall Spa farm reports Lincolnshire's second H5N1 case

Bird flu has been found at a poultry farm near Woodhall Spa - the second recorded case this year in Lincolnshire.

The government said all poultry on the site would be "humanely culled" in a bid to contain the highly contagious H5N1 virus.

The discovery was made on 22 October.

A 3km (1.86 miles) Protection Zone and 10km (6.21 miles) Surveillance Zone are in place around the farm. The threat to public health remains low.

The last confirmed case in Lincolnshire was recorded on 13 October at a poultry farm in Ancaster near Sleaford.

Strict biosecurity measures have been brought in across the country for bird owners, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mark Keal, Lincolnshire Trading Standards manager, said: "All bird-keepers, whether large commercial poultry farms or just backyard flocks, must maintain stringent biosecurity and hygiene measures.

"Lincolnshire was badly impacted by the disease last winter, with multiple cases across East Lindsey, so we'd urge people to act now to try and avoid another bad outbreak this year."

He added that while the threat from bird flu to public health remained "very low", the public should not touch dead wild birds, and they should report any they find to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

In January, the BBC estimated one million birds had been culled to stop the spread of bird flu in Lincolnshire.

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