Avian flu triggers new laws for Britain's bird keepers

Keepers of backyard chickens, ducks, geese, and other poultry in the United Kingdom must now register their flocks with the government and follow strict biosecurity measures brought in to combat the country's largest-ever outbreak of avian flu.

A new, highly pathogenic form of avian flu has been sweeping through wild bird populations across the Northern Hemisphere this year.

In the UK, 2.8 million poultry birds have died or been culled due to the disease as of September, and in the United States, more than 40 million birds have been destroyed.

The outbreak has hit wild seabirds in Scotland particularly hard, wiping out 70 percent of great skuas and 25 percent of wild geese, and leading to a 90 percent breeding failure in gannets.

There have been 190 outbreaks reported among captive bird sites in the UK since October 2021, according to government figures, and 30 of these cases have occurred in the last month alone, suggesting the outbreak is worsening.

As of August, more than 94 million poultry birds had been culled globally to curb the spread of the virus, which has led to more than 3,000 poultry outbreaks, according to a report in the journal Nature. The losses have driven up the price of eggs and poultry meat in some countries, exacerbating the cost of living crisis.

"Bird keepers have faced the largest-ever outbreak of avian flu this year and winter brings an even more increased risk to flocks as migratory birds return to the UK," said a joint statement from the chief veterinary officers of England, Scotland and Wales.

Avian flu circulates naturally in wild birds and the disease can be spread to domestic poultry, particularly in the winter months, when several bird species migrate to the UK from mainland Europe.

A study by environmental organization BirdLife found that 400,000 dead wild birds have been recorded this year through August, which is likely a vast underestimate, given that only a fraction of birds are tested.

"BirdLife is urging governments to set up monitoring systems to track avian flu across a wide range of species and sites," said Willem Van den Bossche, a European nature conservation officer at BirdLife.

There have been more than 2,600 recorded outbreaks in non-poultry birds, over twice the amount of the previous large waves of avian influenza in 2016,2017, and 2021.

"More capacity is also needed to remove the corpses of birds dying of avian flu as quickly as possible from the environment, as the virus stays active for days or weeks, and this risks the disease spreading to other birds in breeding colonies, or to scavenging species," Van den Bossche added.

In the UK, keepers of 50 birds or more are now legally required to register their flocks. The government also recommends that keepers practice sound biosecurity measures, such as dipping boots in disinfectant.

Larger commercial poultry operations of 500 birds or more must now restrict all site access for non-essential people.