England extends bird flu housing rules from 6 Nov 2025

If you keep chickens at home, run a school smallholding, or teach animal health, here’s the update in plain English. England will extend mandatory housing for poultry and other captive birds across the whole country from 00:01 on Thursday 6 November 2025. Great Britain remains in an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone, which requires stronger biosecurity for all keepers. This National Housing Order was confirmed by Defra on 4 November.

You must house your birds if you keep more than 50 of any species, or if you keep any number of “poultry” - birds kept to give away or sell eggs, poultry products or live birds. If you keep fewer than 50 birds and only for your own use, housing is not required under this order, though good biosecurity still applies.

Why the step-up now? On 4 November 2025, highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) was confirmed at a large commercial premises near Wells-Next-The-Sea in North Norfolk. A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone were declared and the flock will be humanely culled. For this season so far, the UK has 24 confirmed cases: 20 in England, 3 in Wales, 1 in Northern Ireland and none in Scotland.

Those zone terms can feel technical, so here’s how to read them. A 3km protection zone brings the tightest controls on housing, movement and cleansing. The surrounding 10km surveillance zone adds records and licensing so movements can be traced. Where infection is found in non-commercial captive birds, a 3km captive bird (monitoring) controlled zone can be used. These rules are set in law and stay in place until formally lifted.

Start by finding your location on Defra’s disease control map, then check the declaration for the exact rules that apply to you. If you need to move poultry, eggs, other captive birds, or even certain mammals to or from premises where birds are kept, you may need a licence. General licences cover some low‑risk movements; otherwise, apply for a specific licence - officials advise allowing five working days for processing.

Biosecurity is your everyday shield. Keep feed, water and bedding under cover; clean footwear, vehicles and equipment before and after contact with birds; manage rodents; remove wild bird faeces and feathers around housing; and keep fresh disinfectant at entry points. The goal is simple: stop wild bird contamination getting anywhere near your birds.

Thinking about shows or swap meets? If you’re not inside a disease control zone, you can apply for a licence to hold a gathering of poultry, and a general licence sets conditions for gatherings of other captive birds. Where housing is compulsory within the AIPZ, gatherings for most poultry are not allowed. Check the fine print before you plan an event.

Vaccination isn’t an option for backyard or commercial flocks in England. Only zoos can vaccinate and only with prior authorisation from the Animal and Plant Health Agency. The UK’s current policy prioritises early reporting, culling of infected premises, and strict biosecurity while vaccine research continues.

Wild birds matter to this story. Do not touch or move sick or dead wild birds - report them via the official service and wash hands after any contact with bird droppings or feathers. If you feed birds in your garden, keep feeders and water baths clean to cut disease spread. In an AIPZ you must not feed wild gamebirds within 500 metres of premises holding 500 or more poultry or captive birds.

Avian influenza viruses can infect some mammals. In Great Britain, influenza of avian origin in mammals is a notifiable event. If, in the course of examining a wild or kept mammal (or samples from one), you suspect infection or detect influenza A virus or antibodies, you must report it immediately: 03000 200 301 (England), 03003 038 268 (Wales), or your local Field Services Office in Scotland. It’s a legal duty.

For people, the guidance remains steady. UK Health Security Agency assesses the risk to public health as very low, and the Food Standards Agency says properly cooked poultry and eggs remain safe to eat. Good kitchen hygiene always applies, but avian influenza is primarily a disease of birds.

If you’re teaching this, here’s the science to spotlight. Bird flu risk tends to rise in late autumn and winter as migratory waterbirds arrive; they can carry H5 viruses without obvious signs. Government strategy aims to reduce impacts on wild populations while protecting public health and the rural economy - that’s why surveillance and targeted controls ramp up now.

If you keep birds, use the next 48 hours well: check your zone, prepare housing with light, ventilation and dry litter, plan enrichment to reduce stress, line up disinfectant and vermin control, and speak to your vet about any welfare worries. If a necessary movement isn’t covered by a general licence, submit a specific licence application.

Want to go deeper with your class or your club? Defra’s recorded “Stop the spread” webinars and the weekly updates on wild bird findings and outbreak risk assessments are solid, source‑based materials for projects, posters or assemblies.