The High Court has granted a group of poultry farmers permission to bring their legal challenge against the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in a case about bird flu compensation.

The NFU members have been granted permission after they filed the legal challenge in December 2022.

The case centres on compensation for poultry producers affected by the ongoing avian influenza outbreak, which has been the UK's largest and worst ever.

Affected farmers argue that the APHA had "misinterpreted" the legislation which underpinned its compensation scheme by "failing to properly compensate affected farmers for birds which are healthy at the point at which it decides they should be culled due to an AI outbreak".

Coupled with delays to culling, which the NFU said had worsened the position for the affected farmers by pushing back the point at which the APHA had calculated compensation even further, these issues could result in substantial shortfalls in the compensation payments made to farmers.

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The High Court’s decision on permission means that the Court will now set a hearing date for the farmers' case to be heard.

The NFU has joined this case as an interested party, and it has put forward its own evidence in support of the members bringing the claim and the wider poultry sector.

The union's poultry board chair, James Mottershead said the news was 'very welcome', adding that the decision allowed the members’ claim to proceed to a hearing.

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He said the financial and emotional strain on farmers, their families and members of staff affected by AI can be devastating.

"This is a hugely important case which could have far-reaching implications for the British poultry sector," Mr Mottershead said.

"That is why the NFU has joined the case as an interested party and is providing funding to support the members bringing the claim.”