Five cases of Avian Influenza have been reported in Wales in Crickhowell, Gaerwen, Chirk, Newtown and Welshpool; in addition four cases on the English side of the border have also affected Welsh holdings.
As of 30th March 2022 the local movement restrictions that were in place in Newtown and Welshpool since the Av.I outbreak identified on 21st February 2022 have now been removed.
The Avian Influenza Prevention Zones (AIPZ) measures that were declared in November 2021 which called for increased biosecurity and mandatory housing of all kept birds remain in place across Wales.
Most recently there have been confirmed clusters of Av.I in the Suffolk and Somerset areas. In summary there have been 103 confirmed cases of Av.I in captive birds across Great Britain with 89 cases in England, 9 in Scotland and the remaining 5 in Wales. Northern Ireland has confirmed 6 cases of Av.I.
Av.I has been confirmed in wild birds at 247 locations in 73 separate counties across GB, involving 41 species of birds. In total 881 wild birds have tested positive for Av.I.
Cases of infection continue to be reported across Europe, with France and Germany reporting 892 and 988 cases respectively in poultry and wild birds since October 2021.
Monday 21st March marked 16 weeks since the mandatory housing order came into place across GB, beyond which the derogation for free range status ended. Eggs previously sold as free range now have to be reclassified as ‘Barn Eggs’. Eggs will have to be stamped as barn eggs and packaging will have to be labelled accordingly.