- Views looked for on brand-new registration guidelines for all bird keepers in Great Britain.
- New guidelines would need all bird keepers to register their birds and update info each year.
- Proposal belongs to federal government action to take on bird influenza.
Proposals to need all poultry keepers to formally register their birds were introduced by the federal government today (7 March) as part of efforts to take on bird influenza.
The brand-new guidelines would use to all keepers, no matter the number of birds they have. At present just those who keep 50 birds or more are needed by law to do so. They would likewise be needed to update their info on a yearly basis.
By registering their birds with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), keepers will guarantee they get crucial updates such as any regional bird influenza break outs and info on biosecurity guidelines to help secure their flocks from the hazard of bird influenza.
This will make it possible for the federal government to interact with bird keepers rapidly, to handle prospective illness break outs, such as bird influenza, and restrict the spread.
The brand-new guidelines would cover owners of yard flocks, birds of victim and pigeon fanciers, however would not impact animal birds kept totally inside a domestic residence, such as a parrot or budgie kept in a cage inside your home which never ever leaves the property aside from to check out a veterinarian or another short-term duration.
In a joint declaration the Chief Veterinary Officers from England, Scotland and Wales said:
“These propositions will allow us to have a complete image of the number and place of birds kept throughout Great Britain and make it much easier to track and handle the spread of bird illness.
“This information will also help inform future risk assessments and maintain our commitment to continually building our extensive avian influenza research portfolio.”
British Poultry Council Chief Executive said:
“We welcome this consultation as a means of ensuring the GB poultry register is fit to support Government and industry efforts in mitigating the ongoing impacts of avian influenza. Registering your poultry is an effective way of monitoring and controlling the spread of disease to protect the national flock. We, as ever, urge all poultry keepers to remain vigilant for signs of avian influenza in their birds.”
The assessment propositions take forward the suggestion from the 2018 Dame Glenys Stacey Review and lessons recognized from the 2021/2022 extremely pathogenic bird influenza (HPAI) H5N1 break out and previous HPAI break outs.
Bird keepers will require to supply info including their contact information, the place where birds are kept and information of the birds (types, number and what they are kept for).
A 12-week joint GB-wide consultation will run up until 31 May.
