Noble Foods calls for housing order as bird flu cases mount

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Noble Foods has said a ‘more proactive approach is now needed’ as the bird flu season gets underway

Britain’s largest egg producer has called for a housing order to be imposed, amid mounting bird flu cases nationally.

Noble Foods has said a “more proactive approach is now needed” as the bird flu season gets underway, including a consideration of a housing order “at pace to help safeguard bird health and support the resilience of the British egg and poultry sectors”.

Housing orders last year did not come into place until December.

Although it recognised Defra’s current risk assessment, which said the risk of poultry exposure to HPAI H5N1 in Great Britain was ‘medium’ where there is poor biosecurity, and ‘low’ where biosecurity is “consistently applied at all times”, the Happy Egg Co owner said recent cases showed the situation could escalate quickly.

“We also strongly encourage renewed momentum in the UK’s approach to avian influenza vaccination,” said a Noble spokesperson. “Several countries, including France, China and the US, have already advanced national programmes with early evidence of reduced disease incidence.”

This comes despite a government report finding in July that a bird flu vaccination programme would offer “poor value for money” if every flock were to vaccinate.

“With eggs and poultry meat forming an essential part of the UK’s food security, it is vital the UK takes a leadership role in progressing a viable, science-led vaccination strategy,” said the Noble Foods spokesperson. “We remain committed to working collaboratively with government, industry bodies and fellow producers to protect the nation’s birds and ensure the long-term sustainability of our sector.”

At the time of writing, Defra has recorded 10 HPAI H5N1 cases in the period 2025-26, with the latest reported in Kent on 27 October.

There were 81 HPAI cases in the period 2024-25, and the highest number recorded in recent years was 207, between 2022-23.

Questioned regarding concerns that this season could be one of the worst in years, Defra said it did not recognise this to be the case and said “overall impact on food supplies and food security is currently negligible, with overall cull numbers representing only a small proportion of overall poultry production”.

“I know the devastating impact bird flu has on farmers and poultry producers, which is why we have measures in place to limit the spread of the disease,” said UK chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss in a statement released on 23 October. “We act quickly to cull all poultry on infected premises to stop the risk of the disease spreading and to protect Britain’s food security.”

Middlemiss urged bird keepers to continue to exercise robust biosecurity measures, be alert for any signs of disease and report suspected cases.