Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current state of avian flu in (1) the poultry industry, (2) game birds, and (3) wild birds; and what plans they have to reduce the prevalence and spread of the disease.

Outbreaks of avian influenza in both kept and wild birds continue to occur at an unprecedented scale across Europe and the UK with cases continuing to be confirmed into year two of the outbreak for the first time.

Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carry out surveillance of disease risks in the UK and around the world to help us assess the impact of current threats such as avian influenza, together with helping anticipate future threats to animal health. As part of this work, and in addition to responding to reports of avian influenza in kept birds, APHA carry out surveillance for avian influenza in wild birds to help us understand how the disease is distributed geographically and in different types of wild bird, and what the risk to poultry including kept game birds and other captive birds is.

Defra’s disease control measures seek to contain the number of animals that need to be culled, either for disease control purposes or to safeguard animal welfare. Our approach aims to reduce adverse impacts on the rural and wider economy, the public, rural communities and the environment (including impact on wildlife), whilst protecting public health and minimising the overall cost of any outbreak. All decisions regarding the disease and prevention control measures are based on risk assessments containing the latest scientific veterinary and ornithological advice. APHA’s risk assessments are published and available on GOV.UK through the ‘Animal diseases: international and UK monitoring’ collection and include assessments covering the poultry and gamebird sectors in addition to wild birds. In summary, the risk of incursion of highly pathogenic (HPAI) avian influenza H5 in wild birds in Great Britain is currently assessed as very high (i.e. event occurs almost certainly). The risk to poultry with stringent biosecurity is currently assessed as medium (i.e. event occurs regularly) (with high uncertainty). However, the risk to poultry exposure to HPAI H5 in Great Britain with suboptimal biosecurity is assessed as high (i.e. event occurs very often) (with low uncertainty).

Good biosecurity is the essential defence against avian influenza and is key to limiting the spread of avian influenza in kept birds in an outbreak. To help stop the spread of avian influenza in kept birds an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) has been introduced in the UK. Mandatory housing measures are also in force as an additional requirement of the AIPZ in Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex. Due to the escalating risk from wild birds nationally mandatory housing measures will be extended to cover the whole of England from 7 November 2022. For areas where an AIPZ is in force it is a legal requirement for all bird keepers (whether they had pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock) to follow strict biosecurity measures to limit the spread of and eradicate the disease, including where mandatory housing measures are a requirement of an AIPZ in force to keep their birds indoors.