A poultry farmer in East Yorkshire must pay £28,000 after bring found guilty of breaches of rules about bird flu and operating a slaughterhouse without approval by the Food Standards Agency.
Daniel Mathison, a partner in Mathison (Farmers) Leven at Southfield Farm in the village, supplies the meat under the brand Yorkshire Ducks and Geese. At Beverley Magistrates Court he pleaded guilty to four offences relating to the Avian Influenza outbreak on the premises, and to operating a slaughterhouse without Food Standards Agency (FSA) approval.
Mathison was fined £4,000 per offence, and ordered to pay an additional £6,000 towards costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge, totalling £28,000 to be paid within 12 months.
The court heard how, despite nationwide preventative compulsory housing, biosecurity and record keeping measures, officers from the Animal and Plant Health Agency found the end of the duck rearing shed was fully open, and no records of bird deaths had been kept when they visited the farm last April to investigate a possible bird flu outbreak, which was confirmed within 24 hours.
Follow-up investigations by officers from Public Protection at East Riding of Yorkshire Council found slaughtering and meat production activities had expanded such that they were greatly in excess of the permitted limit above which approval and on-site supervision by the Food Standards Agency is required.
During sentencing, the magistrates said the farmers’ actions could have had wide-reaching and serious consequences for other farmers, health and the local community. They considered this to be in the high culpability bracket, as Mathison carried on despite warnings and should have known what was required.
Angela Dearing, director of housing, transportation and public protection at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “It is highly likely this Avian Influenza outbreak would not have happened if compulsory housing measures to ensure separation from wild birds had been complied with. It is fortunate the outbreak did not spread further when the disease control restrictions were breached.
“In addition to the catastrophic consequences for this business, the measures required to control the outbreak and prevent it spreading further significantly impacted on other local livestock keepers and the community. The outbreak also resulted in substantial financial and resource costs for DEFRA, APHA, the council and other partner agencies involved.
She added: “It is therefore vitally important that all livestock keepers play their part and adhere to animal disease control regulations, which are in place to protect against potentially devastating effects on their own livestock and businesses, animal and public health, and the economy.”
