The Chief Veterinary Officers for Scotland, England and Wales have introduced new measures to help protect poultry and captive birds. The new housing measures announced on 03 December 2020, are in force from 14 December 2020, and mean it is a legal requirement for all poultry and other captive birds to be housed or otherwise kept separate from wild birds, and for all bird keepers to follow strict biosecurity measures in order to limit the spread of and eradicate the disease. The decision to implement the housing measures from 00:01 am on 14 December 2020, in addition to the current AIPZ measures, has been made in light of evidence from the continent and ongoing high numbers of avian influenza findings among wild bird populations in England. The risk of incursion of avian influenza has been increased to very high for wild birds, medium for poultry with high biosecurity, and high for poultry with poor biosecurity. Further details on the evidence that supported these decisions can be found in our risk assessments.”
For the latest update and all information on the outbreak see here.
