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Bird flu: Ringstead case confirmed in captive birds

Dawid Wojtowicz/BBC A captive bird unitDawid Wojtowicz/BBC
APHA said the birds, based at a small unit on a farm near Ringstead, would be "humanely culled"

A case of bird flu has been confirmed at a farm in Northamptonshire a week after government restrictions were lifted across the UK.

The Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA) said a 3km (1.9 mile) controlled zone had been put in place around the small unit near Ringstead.

The birds are due to be "humanely culled", APHA said.

Restrictions covering most of the UK, which ordered owners to keep poultry inside, were lifted on 18 April.

The controlled zone near Ringstead, which was imposed from 17:00 BST on Saturday, means poultry owners must keep more detailed records of the animals and people on site.

The last case in the East was confirmed at a commercial poultry site near Thetford on 21 February.

More than 330 cases have been confirmed and more than four million birds culled over the past year in the UK.

Figures released to the BBC showed that 208 million birds around the world had died from the latest outbreak.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the risk to humans was very low.

APHA An edited ordnance survey map of RingsteadAPHA
The 3km (1.9 mile) control zone affects other bird owners in the area
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