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Danish authorities to cull 34,000 turkeys after bird flu detected

Around 34,000 turkeys must be culled after avian flu was detected at a farm in South Zealand.

Published: 9 November 2022 17:10 CET

Danish authorities to cull 34,000 turkeys after bird flu detected

A January 2022 photo showing an earlier avian flu outbreak which resulted in thousands of farm turkeys being put down. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (Fødevarestyrelsen) on Tuesday increased its alert level for bird flu from low to medium, prior to the detection of the disease at the farm near the village of Lundby.

It confirmed the birds would be culled in a statement on Wednesday.

“At the end of last month we had a case of avian flu in a hobby flock on [island] Als, and we have now confirmed the disease at a professional breeder. The outbreaks are unfortunately not unexpected,” senior veterinarian Mette Kirkeskov Sie said in the statement.

A large number of dead birds were found amongst the rafter of turkeys at the farm. That resulted in the food authority taking samples for testing, which subsequently confirmed the presence of the disease.

The Food Administration has increased its alert level because seasonal migrations mean that bird flu in Denmark is now at a higher risk of being spread to neighbouring countries.

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Denmark to spend 334 million kroner on paths to boost ‘declining’ cycling

The money, which will see Denmark’s already extensive network of bike lanes continue to grow, comes from a 2021 transport agreement setting aside money for bicycle infrastructure, the Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

Some 64 different municipalities are receiving funding including 28 projects for school bike access.

Under the terms of the agreement, local authorities can get 40 percent of the cost of new bicycle lanes covered by the state fund.

The five new national bicycle lanes – which are fully state-funded – will be built in locations including the Hedensted, Næstved, Norddjurs and Kalundborg municipalities, which are split between Zealand and Jutland.

Distribution of the funding must be rubber-stamped by parliament’s Transport Committee, a process which will be scheduled for after parliament’s summer holiday, the ministry noted in the statement.

“It’s great that we are now expanding the bicycle lane network but cycling is unfortunately declining despite a political desire for the opposite,” the director of the Transport section with the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), Karsten Lauritzen, said in a statement.

“The forthcoming investments in bicycle lanes which are part of the 2035 infrastructure plan should therefore be brought forward,” he said.

The Transport Minister, Thomas Danielsen said he agreed with the assessment that fewer people are using their bicycles and said a national strategy was on the way to tackle the issue.

“When I became transport minister I was gladly given responsibility for a three-billion-krone spending plan for cycling. I did that but at the same time, we don’t have a clear idea of how to get the most cycling and therefore most for this money,” Danielsen said.

“So this cycling strategy should take the form of a resource to help us decision-makers spend the money as wisely as possible,” he added.

The strategy should be prepared by late 2025, he added.

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