No bird flu reprieve for the UK

Despite the latest cases, the UK's Animal and Plant Health Agency confirmed that the housing order had been lifted in England and Wales on Tuesday (April 18) as planned.

Poultry farmers in the UK have had little to no reprieve from avian influenza, with further cases of the highly-pathogenic H5N1 strain detected at a premises in East Yorkshire, just three days after it was announced national housing measures would be lifted.

The order had been in place since October 12, requiring all kept birds to be housed indoors as well as heightened biosecurity measures.