New research from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has explored how the structure of Great Britain's poultry industry influences its resilience to high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI). The study found that alongside farm-level biosecurity, wider factors including planning, infrastructure and financial risk also play an important role in the sector's ability to prepare for and respond to disease outbreaks. The findings could help policymakers and the poultry industry strengthen disease preparedness while protecting one of the country’s most important food production sectors, which is particularly timely given the ongoing development of the UK’s Poultry Sector Growth Plan.

Poultry is the UK's most popular meat and is an increasingly important source of affordable protein. Approximately 1.1 billion birds are reared in Great Britain each year, mainly for meat, but also to produce around 12 billion eggs. Over the last four years, Great Britain has experienced its most severe outbreaks of HPAI, with commercial poultry and wild birds being repeatedly affected. Improving the resilience of the poultry industry has therefore become increasingly important for food production, animal and human health and the wider economy.

Understanding this context, researchers from the RVC and the University of Cambridge conducted a structural assessment of Great Britain's poultry industry through the lens of avian influenza resilience. The study combined a review of scientific literature, policy documents and industry evidence; 19 interviews involving stakeholders from across the sector; farm visits; and stakeholder workshops.

The researchers then mapped poultry production and distribution networks to understand how different parts of the industry interact and where vulnerabilities to disease may arise. The structural economic analysis considered temporal, spatial and operational dimensions, and then utilised a critical political ecological framework to analyse where tensions between social, economic and ecological aspects occur.

The study found that resilience to avian influenza is influenced not only by measures taken on individual farms, but also by wider factors across the poultry system. Two key challenges emerged from the research regarding planning and insurance.

The researchers found that planning decisions, including where poultry production is located and how this is balanced alongside environmental priorities and local communities, can influence disease resilience. They also identified financial risk as a significant challenge, with limited access to avian influenza insurance and existing compensation arrangements affecting how producers manage and recover from outbreaks.

Additional findings included that poultry meat, egg and game bird sectors each have different production challenges and therefore face different disease risks; and that the concentration of poultry production and processing infrastructure can influence how disease risk is managed across supply chains.

The production and distribution maps developed through the study provide a valuable resource for industry, researchers and policymakers, helping to inform future planning and disease preparedness.

Together, the findings suggest that strengthening resilience to avian influenza will require action beyond individual farms. As demand for poultry continues to grow, decisions about where new poultry developments are located, how existing facilities are upgraded and how disease risk is managed will become increasingly important for maintaining a resilient and sustainable poultry sector.

Dr Mat Hennessey, Lecturer in Agribusiness at the RVC, said:

“While the day-to-day activities which occur on and around farms are important in maintaining disease security, our study takes a step back to think about the long-term vision for a resilient poultry sector. Our structural analysis identifies key challenges around planning where poultry production could occur and how producers are able to insure themselves against the ongoing threat of Avian Influenza.”

Dr Ivo Syndicus, Postdoctoral Researcher in Social Science Transformations of Biosecurity at the University of Oxford, said:

“To address the threat poultry in Britain faces from Avian Influenza, it is important that we look beyond farm-level biosecurity alone and take a broader view of how the structure of our poultry industry may create specific vulnerabilities. This study is a groundbreaking assessment of the British poultry industry and its entanglements with social, economic and environmental spheres that need to be navigated for a resilient future.”

Paniz Hosseini, PhD student at the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cambridge, said:

“One of the key findings in this study has been around the need for multi-sectoral coordination on planning and infrastructure. While messaging on strong biosecurity practices remain incredibly important and effective, biosecurity alone without the macro-level coordination highlighted in this paper, may not be sufficient to enhance disease preparedness and prevention in the future.”

This research was carried out as part of the FluTrailMap project, a Great Britain multidisciplinary science programme led by the Pirbright Institute. The study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs through the UKRI Rapid Response programme.