I cannot see the problem as long as there is not going to be a huge added cost to poultry owners.
The announcement follows a long-standing ask from the NFU dating back to 2017, for the government to urgently review the GB poultry register.
Protecting the national flock
The government said the changes would help manage potential disease outbreaks, such as avian influenza and Newcastle disease, and limit any spread.
The information on the register will also be used to identify all bird keepers in disease control zones, allowing for more effective surveillance, so that zones can be lifted at the earliest possible opportunity and trade can resume more quickly following an outbreak of avian disease in Great Britain.
NFU Poultry Board chair James Mottershead said the NFU was pleased to see Defra and the devolved governments taking steps to improve the accuracy and the relevance of the information it holds on poultry keepers of all scales and sizes.
He said: “It’s important that the government now focuses on making the process of registering, reviewing and updating the GB Poultry Register as straightforward as possible to minimise the administrative burden on all poultry keepers.
“The NFU is also calling on the government to ensure that these new requirements will help remove restrictions imposed on poultry farmers when non-commercial poultry are affected by notifiable disease.
“These changes should help the government communicate important information to all poultry keepers in a more timely manner, which in turn will help protect the health of the national flock.”
UK Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said this information “will be vital in helping to inform future risk assessments and maintain our commitment to continually building our extensive avian influenza research portfolio”.
There have been more than 360 cases of avian influenza across Great Britain since October 2021, including a significant number of backyard flocks.
