February 1, 2023

Housing orders for UK poultry may not lift until spring as bird flu rages

Christine Middlemiss, the UK Chief Veterinary Officer, said housing orders for UK chickens and hens to stay indoors, imposed in November last year, is likely to remain until spring, when wild birds that carry the bird flu virus migrate elsewhere, Bloomberg reported.

This means that free-range eggs, which typically account for more than half of supply in the country, could soon be off the shelves.

The UK allows producers to keep the "free-range" label for up to 16 weeks after receiving a housing order. That expires near the end of February 2023.

She said the number of flu cases in the UK has decreased since October, but the risk of infection remains very high.

The infection rate in wild birds has levelled off, and farm case counts have dropped from an autumn high. This is a positive sign for global poultry producers as they battle an outbreak that has killed tens of millions of birds, primarily in North America and Europe.

The previous year, the UK also ordered birds to be kept indoors. Middlemiss said housing is a protective measure, but other factors, such as avoiding new farms near waterways where wild birds congregate, can help outdoor production.

She said it is not the end of free-range production in the long run, adding that these have been extraordinary and unusual bird flu outbreaks.

-      Bloomberg