A ban on poultry gatherings is set to be lifted as planned on Monday, May 15, while localised measures remain in place in Lancashire, Cumbria and Merseyside, the UK chief veterinary officer says.
The ban will remain, however, in areas of northern England following recent confirmed cases of bird flu in the Wyre district, which show that infection is still either circulating in wild resident birds or present in the environment.
The latest risk assessment from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) found overall risk across England had not increased, but there was a heightened risk in those areas and poultry keepers are advised to be vigilant.
As a result a new, targeted Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) will cover the districts of Barrow-in-Furness, South Lakeland, Lancaster, Blackpool, Wyre, Fylde, Preston, Sefton, West Lancashire, South Ribble and Chorley.
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