Farming News - All poultry and captive birds in England must now be housed to prevent spread of avian flu
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All poultry and captive birds in England must now be housed to prevent spread of avian flu
- National housing measures have been introduced across England on Monday 7 November making it a legal requirement to house poultry and captive birds
All poultry and captive birds must be housed from today (7th November) in England to prevent the risk of avian influenza spreading further.
All bird keepers are required to shut their birds indoors to prevent access by wild birds and to follow strict biosecurity measures to help protect their flocks from avian influenza, regardless of type of bird or numbers kept. The disease could kill your birds if these actions aren’t taken.
Since late October 2021, the UK has faced its largest ever outbreak of avian influenza with over 200 cases confirmed on commercial premises, smallholdings and in pet birds. The introduction of the housing measures comes after the disease was confirmed at over 90 premises since the start of last month, as well as in over 200 dead wild birds. The risk of bird flu in wild birds is now considered very high.
The Chief Veterinary Officer is now urging all bird keepers in England to step up their efforts in the fight against avian influenza. Evidence shows that housing birds reduces the risk of kept birds being infected with avian influenza. However, housing alone will not fully protect birds and all keepers must still follow the other enhanced biosecurity measures mandated by the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) at all times to protect their flocks and prevent the risk of future outbreaks which is circulating in wild birds. This includes cleansing and disinfecting footwear and clothing before and after contact with birds, reducing the movement of people onto premises and storing bedding properly so it doesn’t get contaminated by wild birds.
The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said:
“Many poultry keepers in England have excellent biosecurity standards but we know that one small mistake is all it takes to introduce bird flu onto premises and kill flocks. A housing order alone will not be enough to reduce infection rates. Implementing scrupulous biosecurity and separating flocks from wild birds remains the best form of defence.
“Whether you keep just a few birds or thousands, from today onwards they must be housed under cover to protect them from this highly infectious disease.”
The new housing measures build on the strengthened biosecurity measures that were brought in as part of the AIPZ earlier this month. The AIPZ means that all bird keepers need to take extra precautions, such as restricting access for non-essential people on site, ensuring workers change clothing and footwear before entering bird enclosures and cleaning and disinfecting vehicles regularly to limit the risk of the disease spreading.
The UK Health Security Agency continue to advise that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and the Food Standards Agency advice remains unchanged, that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers. Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.