It is currently mandatory for a person who is a keeper of 50 or more poultry at any single premises to register their birds on the Great Britain Poultry Register by providing specified information on the birds. The information on the register enables the government to communicate with poultry keepers quickly, to manage any potential disease outbreak and carry out outbreak-related activities effectively.
Many choose to register voluntarily.
DEFRA has launched a joint-GB consultation on proposed registration requirements for all bird keepers in Great Britain. This will reduce the threshold to:
Option 1 (preferred option) 1 bird of any species
Option 2 10 birds of any species.
Why your views matter
The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on the government’s proposals to require all keepers of poultry and other captive birds to register their birds. There are three options under consideration including a do-nothing option.
The proposed changes will amend the current poultry registration requirements for keepers with 50 or more poultry and extend this to all bird keepers of any species with either (Option 1) one bird, or (Option 2) ten birds. The consultation proposals take forward the recommendation from the 2018 Dame Glenys Stacey Review that was conducted for England and lessons identified from the 2021/2022 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 (also known as bird flu) outbreak and previous HPAI outbreaks.
Whilst animal health policy is a devolved matter, the UK government, the Scottish government and the Welsh government have agreed to work together to ensure adequate information on all bird premises is captured across Great Britain. The specific amendments proposed in this consultation will have effect only in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).
Your responses will be used to help refine proposals and inform policy decisions on how the UK government, Scottish Government and Welsh Government proceed with any subsequent legislative change.
The BWA and other stakeholder organisations have been asked to gather responses from their members. What are your views?
If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can reply to editor@waterfowl.co.uk and responses will be combined and submitted on your behalf. The deadline for response is 31st May 2023.
