Bird flu outbreak: housing order to combat avian influenza expanded to cover whole of England
The housing order to combat the rapid rise of bird flu has been expanded from Yorkshire to cover the whole of England, the Government has announced.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ordered poultry farmers across the country to bring their flocks indoors in a mandatory housing order to contain the fast-spreading infectious disease.
The order, which means keepers must also keep feed and bedding inside, and to cleanse and disinfect clothing, footwear, equipment, vehicles before and after contact with poultry or captive birds, will be in place until further notice.
While a Britain-wide avian influenza prevention zone has also been put in place, and requires all keepers, including those with pet birds, to undertake enhanced biosecurity measures.
Chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said: “Given the continued increase in the number of avian influenza cases in kept birds and wild birds across England, we are now taking the difficult step to extend the housing measures to the whole of England.
“I appreciate the impact these measures have on industry and am extremely grateful for the continued cooperation of the poultry sector.
“We know from previous years that housing birds will bring the rates of infection down from the high we are currently experiencing.
“I urge bird keepers to comply with the new housing measures, continue to exercise robust biosecurity measures, remain alert for any signs of disease and report suspected disease immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.”
The move has come just a few days after officials confirmed highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in a large commercial poultry premises north-west of Bedale, near Hackforth.
A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone was declared surrounding the premises and animal health officers said all poultry on the premises would be humanely culled, some 68,000 free-range hens.
The nationwide housing order comes just months after the previous such order affecting Yorkshire and the North of England was gradually lifted, following multiple outbreaks across East and North Yorkshire.
Officials have previously emphasised they are planning for another difficult autumn and winter, warning the coming year is going to see more outbreaks than there was during the last year.
Last month saw the most confirmed cases across the country in October since 2021, when the poultry sector saw more than one million birds from outdoor systems culled.
The UK saw numerous unseasonal outbreaks of the disease in the summer months, leading to the total number of recorded cases rising to 90 in the 13 months to the end of October. All nine of the most recent cases were at commercial poultry units.
Although the UK appears to be the hardest hit European country, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Poland and Denmark have confirmed outbreaks at commercial poultry farms.
Experts say the risk of bird flu outbreaks could further increase across Europe, following an increase in cases of migrating cranes in Germany being "particularly affected by the disease for the first time," according to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute.
More than half a million birds have been culled in Germany since the beginning of September in a bid to stop the spread of bird flu.
The institute has advised poultry farmers to implement strict biosecurity measures to minimise contact between poultry and wild birds and reduce the risk of outbreaks.