BIRD-flu quarantine requirements are to be lifted as there have been no new outbreaks in the past six weeks.
An Island-wide bird-flu prevention zone was introduced last month – following outbreaks at a farm in St Peter and a property in St Lawrence – requiring keepers to house their flocks and keep them separated from wild birds, among other restrictions.
The legal requirements will end on Thursday, however the States veterinary team are still encouraging keepers to separate their flocks from wild birds wherever possible and to maintain high levels of biosecurity.
Deputy chief veterinary officer Caroline Terburgh said: ‘With no recent outbreaks, and after discussions with UK avian influenza virologists, the time is right for us to lift the formal housing order and prevention zone restrictions.
‘Reports of dead seabirds have vastly decreased, but I’m keen to emphasise we cannot be complacent and that we may have to return to mandatory housing if cases rise again, as they currently are in parts of England.’
She added: ‘We’d like to reiterate our thanks to birdkeepers for their efforts to date, which have undoubtedly helped stop bird flu from spreading further. We appreciate that many keepers have gone to great length and expense to build housing for domestic birds, and this will not have gone to waste. You have kept your birds safe and any person keeping animals should have contingency plans in place for disease outbreaks.’
All imported birds still need to be housed for a minimum of 30 days on arrival, and importers need to submit a housing and biosecurity plan with their application.
