The mandatory indoor confinement for poultry will also be lifted in the Gelderse Vallei, the last region in the Netherlands where the measure against avian influenza was still in effect. That was announced by Minister Femke Wiersma (Agriculture) on Tuesday. The new situation applies from Friday.
In November, a nationwide mandatory indoor confinement and shielding obligation was introduced for poultry after avian influenza was detected at an organic chicken farm in Putten.
According to Wiersma, few infections have been detected at poultry farms in Europe recently. In the Netherlands, that happened for the last time on March 19. Experts advising the minister estimate the chance of a new infection at a poultry farm as “low to moderate”.
At the end of May, the mandatory indoor confinement was already lifted in the rest of the Netherlands. Only in the Gelderse Vallei, where many poultry farms are located, chickens still had to stay inside.
Since November, there has also been a nationwide ban on exhibiting at-risk birds such as waterfowl and gallinaceous birds. Wiersma calls this a severe measure for hobby breeders, “because inspections at exhibitions are important for the preservation of these often rare bird breeds”.
The minister will allow the exhibitions again from Friday under strict conditions. For example, no more than thirty bird owners may participate and waterfowl may not be at the same event with other at-risk birds.