January 2, 2007

Poultry register a success, says Defra

Over 250 million birds have been registered on the Great Britain Poultry Register, Defra announced.

The registry was part of the department's measures to help reduce the impact of an outbreak of avian influenza.

It has been made mandatory for poultry keepers in England, Scotland and Wales to register themselves if they own or are looking after poultry premises with 50 or more birds.

Those under 50 birds are also encouraged to register voluntarily. Further, they have to notify Defra of any significant changes in the birds.

Defra, the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government, backed by the poultry industry, established the Great Britain Poultry Register in December last year to gather essential information about certain species of birds held on premises in Great Britain.

The aim of maintaining records relating to birds is to reach out to them in the event of an outbreak.

Meanwhile, Defra has also been urging farmers to be more vigilant for signs of disease, although it claimed the risk of avian flu in the UK was still low.