In the Netherlands a 150,000 layer farm was found to be
infected with the avian flu strain H5N8.
The Dutch cannot
export poultry meat to markets beyond the EU for the next three months and
industry leaders are saying losses could be as high as €100 million.
No problem, just tap in to the EU agricultural contingency
fund, a situation I would have thought the fund was set up for.
Only problem with that is that of the €433m set aside for
2015 EU ministers have in their infinite wisdom already spent €344m bailing out
farmers hit by the EU US sanctions and Russian food embargo.
A similar strain of avian flu has also been identified on
farms in Germany and the UK so presumably the call on what’s left in the fund
will only grow and it’s still 2014.
Sounds like this hasn't been completely thought through.