The government has extended the bird flu housing order to cover all of England as the cases continue to mount.
The housing order, announced last week, was previously just covering north, central and east England.
The UK’s chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss, has ordered a wider housing order to come into place from Thursday 6 November, with bird keepers required to house all poultry and captive birds, if they keep more than 50, or if they sell or give away eggs.
An Avian Influenza Protection Zone has also been put in place across the whole of Great Britain, requiring all keepers to undertake enhanced biosecurity measures.
“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,” said Middlemiss. “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,” she added.
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The British Free Range Egg Producers Association, which has been calling for a UK-wide housing order, welcomed the announcement and wants devolved governments to follow suit.
“This is the clarity and consistency that producers have been calling for,” said Gary Ford, BFREPA’s head of strategy and producer engagement. “A national approach provides stronger protection for free range birds and much-needed reassurance for farmers at this challenging time.
“We now urge the devolved governments in Wales and Scotland to act swiftly to align with this policy so that all producers across Great Britain can operate under the same protective framework.”
At the time of writing, there have been 24 confirmed cases in the UK, with 20 in England, three in Wales, and one in Northern Ireland.
In previous comments made to The Grocer, Defra said this season was not set to be one of particular concern despite it taking until December until a housing order was put in place in 2024.
In its current risk levels and outbreak assessment, Defra said the risk of bird flu in wild birds in Great Britain is “very high” and the risk of poultry exposure “high” where there is poor biosecurity, and “low” where stringent measures are in place.
The UKHSA has advised the current risk to the general public is “very low” and the FSA said it is “a very low food safety risk”.
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