29 Jan 2025
A nationwide disease prevention zone will come into force tomorrow morning.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Image © mbolina / Adobe Stock
A new avian influenza prevention zone (AIPZ) covering the whole of Wales is set to come into force from tomorrow (30 January).
The measure, announced this afternoon, is in line with similar measures introduced across England and Scotland at the weekend and earlier this month in Northern Ireland.
At present, no cases have been recorded among poultry or other kept birds in Wales during the present outbreak, although part of the borough of Wrexham was put under restrictions in connection with a case in Shropshire.
But Welsh deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies said: “The number of cases in poultry flocks continues to increase across Great Britain and there is a heightened risk of transmission from wild to kept birds.
“I consider the mandatory enhanced biosecurity measures of the AIPZ to be proportionate to the risk level posed by avian influenza here in Wales at this time.
“We all have a responsibility to protect the health and welfare of our national flock in Wales and prevent disease introduction and spread.”
The new restrictions will come into force from 12:01am on Thursday and will remain in place until further notice.
A total of 25 avian flu cases have been confirmed among kept birds in England, plus one in Scotland, since the present outbreak began in mid-November.
The latest confirmed case was reported at premises near Skegness in Lincolnshire yesterday. Other infections were confirmed at sites near Alford, Lincolnshire and near Pocklington, East Yorkshire on Monday.
