Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen moves poultry inside at her Swaledale farm amid bird flu fears

The Government has imposed an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) over swathes of North Yorkshire including Hambleton, Harrogate and Richmondshire following bird flu being detected at a commercial poultry premises near Thirsk over the weekend.

All kept birds that fall under the AIPZ must be moved indoors as part of a legal requirement that came into force on Sunday night.

Ms Owen, also known as the Yorkshire Shepherdess, tweeted on Tuesday that she had had to rear up all the chicken at her Ravenseat farm.

She wrote: “Finally at sundown we get hold of the last chicken that has evaded capture.

“The chickens must now reside in the barn due to bird flu.”

The new legislation has also affected tourism attractions in the region.

In an announcement, the Arboretum said: “Due to the recent avian flu outbreak, our birds of prey will be taking a break and staying safely inside their aviaries for the foreseeable future.

“We look forward to a time where we can fly the birds once again and showcase their incredible flying skills.”

The rules apply to individuals who keeps a small number of poultry as pets to farms which house thousands of animals, with the Chief Veterinary Officer stressing it was in keepers’ interests to protect their birds.

There is believed to be very little risk to members of the public from bird flu.

The new restrictions for parts of North Yorkshire follow a nationwide AIPZ introduced earlier this month which means keepers with more than 500 birds need to restrict access for non-essential people on their sites, workers need to change clothing and footwear before entering bird enclosures and site vehicles need to be cleaned and disinfected regularly to limit the risk of the disease spreading.