Animal Plant Health Agency
Contents:
- Latest situation
- Bird flu guidance
- Risk levels
- Bird flu webinars
- Free-range and organic status
- Defra policies and contingency plans
- Bird flu legislation
Latest situation
Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) is in an avian influenza prevention zone (AIPZ). By law you must follow strict biosecurity rules to prevent bird flu and stop it spreading.
In England you must house your birds to protect them from bird flu.
There have been 96 confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in England since 1 October 2022.
There have been 230 cases of(HPAI)H5N1 in England since the H5N1 outbreak started in October 2021.
Check if you are in a bird flu disease zone on the map.
If youre in a bird flu disease zone you must follow the rules for that zone.
Update 7 November
Mandatory housing measures for all poultry and captive birds are now in force across England.
This means that all bird keepers must house their birds, whatever their type or size (exceptions apply to some zoo birds and other species).
Find details of the measures that apply in England: AIPZ declaration including housing measures.
Update 6 November
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 was confirmed in commercial poultry on 6 November 2022:
- second premises near Fakenham, North Norfolk, Norfolk
- premises near Reepham, Broadland, Norfolk
A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone are in place around each of the premises. All poultry on the premises will be humanely culled.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 was also confirmed in non-commercial other captive birds at a premises near Metheringham, North Kesteven, Lincolnshire. A 3km Captive Bird (Monitoring) Controlled Zone is in place around the premises. All birds on the premises will be humanely culled.
Update 5 November
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 was confirmed in commercial poultry on 5 November 2022 at an eleventh premises near Dereham, Breckland, Norfolk. A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone are in place around the premises. All poultry on the premises will be humanely culled.
All bird flu cases and disease zones
Find details of all bird flu cases and disease zones in England.
Find details of bird flu cases in Scotland, cases in Wales and cases in Northern Ireland.
Bird flu guidance
Find out how to:
- spot and report bird flu
- prevent bird flu and stop it spreading
- follow the rules in disease zones
- house your birds safely
Find guidance about bird flu vaccination.
Risk levels
The risk of of highly pathogenic (HPAI) avian influenza H5 in wild birds in Great Britain is assessed as very high (the event occurs almost certainly).
The risk of poultry exposure to HPAI H5 in Great Britain is assessed as high (event occurs very often) (with low uncertainty) where there are substantial biosecurity breaches and poor biosecurity and medium (that is event occurs regularly) (with high uncertainty) where good biosecurity is applied.
Find details of the evidence that supported these decisions in the risk and outbreak assessments.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advise that bird flu is primarily a disease of birds and the risk to the general publics health is very low.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said bird flu poses a very low food safety risk for UK consumers. Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.
Bird flu webinars
Whether you have pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock, the avian influenza stop the spread webinars explain what you can do to protect your birds.
Free-range and organic status
Eggs
If youre in a bird flu disease zone with housing measures, you can keep your free-range status if housing measures do not last for more than 16 weeks.
Birds will regain their free-range status when they:
- can go back outside again
- meet the standards in paragraph 1 for the protection of laying hens
If housing measures last for more than 16 weeks, contact your responsible sector body or organic certification body if you have concerns about losing your organic or free-range status.
Meat
Under EU poultry meat marketing regulations, keepers who are required by government to house their birds can retain their free-range status provided birds have spent a minimum of half their lifetime with either access to outside areas or housed during the fixed 12-week grace period.
If birds are housed for longer than half their lifetimes outside of the 12-week grace period, they can no longer be marketed as free-range.
Traditional free-range and free-range total freedom birds ordinarily must have continuous daytime access to open-air runs from a certain age depending on the species. In the case of chickens for Traditional free range, it is 6 weeks of age with a minimum age at slaughter of 81 days.
A chicken will lose its ability to acquire Traditional free-range status if it is kept housed beyond the 12-week grace period and after the first 6 weeks of its life and will never be able to attain it. For Free-range total freedom birds they must have continuous access to open air runs. They will lose their free-range status if they continue to be housed after the grace period and will never be able to attain free-range total freedom status.
For longer-term concerns about possible loss of status, for example organic or free-range, you should consult the responsible sector body or organic certification body.
Defra?policies and contingency plans
Defra?controls cases of bird flu by following the: