The boss of an animal sanctuary says her “heart is numb” after revealing her birds are at the centre of an outbreak of avian flu - and will all have to be culled.

Amey James, who runs Happy Pants Ranch in Newington, near Sittingbourne, shared her anguish via the charity’s Facebook page this evening.

“Last night I got the devastating news that some of the sanctuary birds had tested positive for avian influenza,” she wrote.

“After several ducks suddenly fell ill and sadly passed away very quickly last week, we had the vets out who thought we were dealing with a toxicity case.

“At first it was just the ducks affected so it was assumed it might be a water issue.”

She said vets from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) came out on Friday to investigate and carry out a post mortem, but

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