Across England, the threat of avian influenza has reached a new intensity, prompting sweeping changes for bird keepers, farmers, and even dog walkers. On November 6, 2025, the UK government issued a national mandatory housing order, requiring anyone with more than 50 birds—or those selling or distributing eggs and poultry products—to bring their flocks indoors. This move comes as the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus continues to spread rapidly, with 26 confirmed cases on farms across the UK since the start of the bird flu season in October, 22 of them in England alone, according to the BBC.
The urgency of the situation is underscored by warnings from leading experts. Professor Ian Brown, formerly director of science at the Animal and Plant Health Agency and now at the Pirbright Institute, described the current strain as "as super-infectious as any high pathogenicity avian influenza we've ever seen." He cautioned, "We had a very, very serious epidemic between 2021 and 2023—in excess of 350 outbreaks in the UK. That's off the scale." With the new season barely underway, Brown's advice for farmers is blunt: "Prepare for the worst, I'm afraid."
For those on the front lines, the impact is immediate and deeply felt. Sarah Godwin, a free-range egg producer in Wiltshire, shared her distress with the BBC: "It is terrible. We would love to see them out but it is just a necessary evil because the risk of them catching avian influenza is so high and the consequences are so disastrous for a producer, and for the hens as well." Her 32,000-laying hens, typically outdoors most of the day, now remain in their barns around the clock. Despite strict biosecurity, Godwin admits to feeling "very nervous," noting that "it only takes a tiny, tiny bit of contaminated muck from a wild bird or something that's been brought into the shed on somebody's boots. It's literally grammes that can infect the whole flock. And at that point, the whole flock has to be culled."
The mandatory housing order, which applies to all of England, has been echoed by regional authorities. In North Yorkshire, three cases were confirmed at Hackforth, Tholthorpe, and Knayton since early October, leading to culls and the establishment of strict control zones. Councillor Richard Foster, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for managing the environment, emphasized, "Compliance is essential to protect both commercial and backyard flocks and to support the wider disease control effort." Road signs and public information posters now mark these bird flu control zones, and bird keepers are required to keep records, avoid gatherings, and maintain rigorous hygiene.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is managing infected sites, overseeing culling and deep cleaning, while North Yorkshire Council’s animal health officers enforce compliance. The council has activated its Notifiable Disease Action Plan, and residents are urged to report any signs of disease immediately. The legal requirement to register all poultry and captive birds, introduced in October 2024, is now being enforced to ensure rapid communication during outbreaks.
Elsewhere, the virus has made its presence known in both wild and captive populations. In Wiltshire, a dead wild buzzard found in Winterbourne Stoke tested positive for the H5N1 strain, detected through the APHA’s wild bird surveillance scheme. With water sources and popular dog walking routes nearby, agency wardens have begun putting up posters along the River Till, warning the public to stay vigilant. The virus can affect mammals, including dogs, and pet owners are advised to contact their vet if their animals become ill after contact with wild birds.
Commercial operations are not the only ones affected. In Lincolnshire, a rise in bird flu cases has led to new guidelines for all bird owners. The Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) and mandatory housing measures apply to those with more than 50 birds or anyone selling or giving away eggs or poultry products. Hobby keepers with fewer than 50 birds are exempt from the housing order but must still adhere to strict biosecurity rules. These include keeping feed and bedding inside, disinfecting clothing and equipment, minimizing movement to and from bird areas, and using deterrents like bird scarers to keep wild birds at bay.
Enhanced biosecurity is now the watchword across England. All bird keepers, whether running large commercial farms or small backyard flocks, must cleanse and disinfect housing and walkways continuously, control vermin, and keep fresh disinfectant at entry and exit points. The goal is to stop the virus from hitching a ride on dirty boots, vehicles, or equipment—a lesson learned the hard way during previous outbreaks.
In East Sussex, the county council has echoed national guidance, urging all residents and businesses with birds to remain vigilant and report suspected disease immediately. The council advises, "If you find small numbers of dead wild birds you can dispose of them in household or municipal bins, following the government’s safety advice which includes washing your hands after coming into contact with dead birds. There is no need to report dead birds unless you find a large number of them in one place."
Despite the scale of the outbreak, public health agencies continue to stress that the risk to humans is very low. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) maintains that avian influenza is primarily a disease of birds, and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) confirms that properly cooked poultry and eggs remain safe to eat. Nevertheless, the public is urged not to touch or pick up sick or dead birds, and to report findings of dead wild waterfowl, gulls, or birds of prey to Defra.
Professor Brown, while reassuring that "these viruses are still bird viruses. They don't want to be in a human," also warned that the situation requires ongoing vigilance. "We have to continually monitor the virus, because it's an influenza virus and influenza viruses change. Even when they're happy in a species such as birds they still undergo changes. They make mistakes and errors when they replicate. So that could always spew out a variant that might be more infectious for humans."
Symptoms of avian influenza in poultry include swollen heads, blue discoloration of the neck and throat, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, respiratory distress, reduced egg production, and increased mortality. Suspected cases must be reported to the APHA immediately, and culling is only carried out if laboratory testing confirms the virus or a veterinary risk assessment identifies a strong likelihood of spread.
With the UK now fully under the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone, the message from officials is clear: vigilance, biosecurity, and rapid reporting are the keys to containing this outbreak. As the season unfolds, both authorities and farmers are bracing for a challenging winter, hoping that tough measures now will prevent even greater losses down the line.
