Special Bird Flu Measures For Lancs, Cumbria and Merseyside

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The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation is informing its members that Defra has announced measures targeted at parts of Lancashire, Cumbria and Merseyside to combat the risk of bird flu. These will come into force after 15 May 2017 when most of the rest of England will see restrictions lifted.

An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone will be introduced from 15 May for the districts of Barrow-in-Furness, South Lakeland, Lancaster, Blackpool, Wyre, Fylde, Preston, Sefton, West Lancashire, South Ribble and Chorley, when the new, targeted zone will be shown on the Defra interactive map. For full details of the annoucement click here.

Defra assessments indicate that the risk posed by bird flu across England as a whole has not increased, but there is a heightened risk in parts of Lancashire, Cumbria and Merseyside, where infection is still either circulating in wild resident birds or present in the environment. The risk is considered higher here because the region is home to significant wild waterfowl populations and there have been previous outbreaks of H5N8 throughout the area.

The new Prevention Zone will require those with captive birds, including gamekeepers, to continue to observe existing mandatory disease prevention measures such as minimising movement in and out of bird enclosures, cleaning footwear, keeping areas where birds live clean and tidy and feeding birds indoors.

Poultry gatherings in theses areas will continue to be banned, and those with poultry will not be permitted to take their poultry to gatherings elsewhere.

Please be aware that when the Prevention Zone is lifted on 15 May 2017 across the rest of England those with captive birds, including captive gamebirds, should continue to follow industry best-practice biosecurity standards.

Defra said it continues to review all disease control measures. The latest advice is here.

The Defra announcement on an Avian Influenza Prevention Zones for parts of Lancashire, Cumbria and Merseyside came in the wake of a further confirmed outbreak of bird flu in a small backyard flock of chickens and ducks at a farm near Thornton, Wyre, Lancashire. A 3km Protection Zone and a 10km Surveillance Zone have been put in place around the infected premises to limit the risk of the disease spreading. Full details are published here.

The restrictions within the 3km and 10km zones include a requirement to house or to otherwise separate all kept birds from wild birds. They also require increased record keeping for visitors and bird movements.

No gamebird releasing is allowed within the 3km and 10km zones and any movement of birds into or out of the zones requires a licence from a Government veterinary inspector.

A Defra interactive map is available and kept up to date so you can check if the restrictions affect you.

Shooting is not restricted where 3km Protection and 10km Surveillance Zones are in force. The NGO would urge however shooting interests in the vicinity of bird flu outbreaks to consider their future planning at this time.

A spokesman for the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation said: “We ask our members to remain vigilant to the risk that bird flu might still pose to preparations for the next gameshooting season. Those with captive gamebirds must continue to maintain the appropriate levels of biosecurity in all areas of England and Wales. Please keep checking the NGO website for details.”

Other important information

The NGO reminds its members and others in the shooting community that government came together with countryside and shooting organisations on 3 March and issued important (revised) information about bird flu to all those specifically involved with gamebirds. For the background to that announcement and for the link leading to the advice, please click here

The NGO continues to ask its members to be vigilant and to report any dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks) or gulls or five or more dead wild birds of other species, when encountered in the same location in unusual circumstances, to the Defra helpline on 03459 33 55 77. Details of how to spot the symptoms of bird flu can be found here

Official guidance and advice on all relevant aspects of avian influenza – from implementing biosecurity measures to spotting symptoms and how to go about reporting suspected cases – are available in a directory on the Defra website. It can be viewed by clicking here

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