Bird Flu

A new digital platform has been launched to help poultry producers with biosecurity management and response to disease threats

From midnight on April 7, keepers in Cumbria, County Durham, Northumberland and Tyneside must house their birds. This extension is in addition to those housing measures already in place

Currently, after 12 weeks, free-range poultry has to be labelled as indoor reared when mandatory housing measures are introduced in response to bird flu

On today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown gives the latest on the first case of avian flu found in a single sheep in Yorkshire, the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Slovakia – where the disease has been found on three separate farms, and the Tenant Farmers Association's call on Defra to allow 'in-flight' SFI applications to be processed

Dr Meera Chand, emerging infection lead at the UK Health Security Agency, said: "Globally, we continue to see that mammals can be infected with avian influenza A (H5N1)"

The best way to protect Welsh flocks against current disease threat was the main topic up for discussion at the recent NFU Cymru Poultry Conference, held in Builth Wells.

NFU poultry board chair, James Mottershead said AI vaccination programme for birds need to be safe to give consumers the confidence to continue eating poultry products, and must not disrupt exports

The NFU plea coincides with the first suspected bird flu outbreak of the season in Northern Ireland, which was recorded among a commercial flock in Co Tyrone

Following a number of confirmed cases of avian influenza, poultry keepers are being urged to stay vigilant for signs of the disease and adhere to the latest control measures