North Yorkshire a 'higher risk' area for bird flu

Farmers in North Yorkshire have been told to take extra precautions after the county was upgraded to a "higher risk" area for bird flu.

A mandatory housing order has been put in place by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), which legally requires poultry owners to bring their birds inside.

The move comes after two cases of bird flu were reported in Easingwold in the last few days.

Will Raw, who is a farmer in North Yorkshire and a member of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), said orders were being put in place more quickly these days as "we've learned a great many lessons from the outbreak in 2022".

The Easingwold cases were at a commercial poultry farm and in a small backyard flock.

All of the birds across the commercial site had been culled, according to Defra.

Dr Christine Middlemiss, Chief Veterinary Officer of the United Kingdom, said: "We feel with the risk in those regions that it's worth taking those measures.

"Because this is what we call a zoonotic disease, it has the potential to infect people.

"Though the risk currently for the public is very low, we take robust measures to make sure those risks are taken down to the lowest possible level."

The rule applies to owners of large commercial flocks, but also to anyone who owns domestic chickens in their back garden.

"It makes birds really sick and they die, so it has massive productivity impact for businesses, but for backyard keepers and people who keep chickens as pets it can be devastating," Dr Middlemiss said.

"That's why it's much better to do everything we can to keep the virus out."

Along with the housing order, infected wild birds and hens are being culled to stop the spread of the disease.

"This isn't a new disease that we're struggling with," said Mr Raw, who is vice chair of the NFU's poultry board.

"The easiest way to contain this disease is to house the birds and mitigate the risk of commercial birds mixing with wild birds."

He added that free-range birds also needed to be housed, but called on owners to take care of their welfare.

"We have things like enrichment we can put inside. We all want happy birds while they're housed."

In the West Midlands, another area upgraded to high risk, a farm worker has contracted the human version of the avian flu.

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