After months of anxiety and strict controls, the landscape for bird flu management in the UK is shifting, with the recent lifting of restrictions in Norfolk and renewed debate in Wales over how best to protect both wildlife and rural livelihoods. On September 10, 2025, authorities in Norfolk officially revoked the protection and surveillance zones that had been imposed to halt the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, marking a significant milestone for the region’s poultry farmers and wildlife managers.
According to BBC News, the outbreak in Norfolk began in January 2025, with the detection of avian influenza at five separate commercial poultry premises near Attleborough. The last confirmed case was in early August. In response, officials established a 3km (1.8 mile) protection zone and a broader 10km (6.2 mile) surveillance zone. These zones brought with them a host of requirements: in the protection zone, farmers had to keep wild birds separate from rodents, while those in the surveillance zone were required to keep meticulous records of every poultry and egg movement in and out of their premises.
All birds at the affected sites were, in the words of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), “humanely culled.” Earlier in 2025, even wider restrictions had been imposed across both Norfolk and neighboring Suffolk, with farmers ordered to keep their birds caged to prevent further spread of the virus. The lifting of these restrictions signals a return to relative normalcy, though memories of the outbreak—and the threat it posed—linger.
Yet, while Norfolk breathes a sigh of relief, the debate over how to manage avian influenza and its wider impact is far from settled elsewhere in the UK. In Wales, the conversation is taking a different turn. Campaigners and conservationists are calling for urgent action to tighten rules governing the release of millions of gamebirds—mainly pheasants and red-legged partridges—into the countryside. Their concern? The risk these releases pose both to native wildlife and to the ongoing battle against bird flu.
As reported by BBC News, the annual shooting season in Wales typically sees between 800,000 and 2.3 million gamebirds released into the wild. The Welsh government first sought advice on whether greater oversight was needed back in 2022, and by the following year, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) had recommended a “risk-based licensing framework.” This proposal would require gamekeepers to obtain permission before releasing birds, especially near sensitive environmental sites, and set strict limits on the number of birds that could be introduced to a given area.
Despite these recommendations, a decision on the new licensing system has been delayed—much to the frustration of conservation groups like RSPB Cymru. Julian Hughes, head of species at the organization, voiced his exasperation: “We’re now in 2025, the government hasn’t made any decision nor any announcement and we wonder what’s the hold-up, what’s the problem?” Hughes argues that every year without tighter regulation increases the “growing risk to nature,” with large-scale releases of non-native gamebirds outcompeting rarer Welsh species for food and boosting predator numbers.
Bird flu outbreaks have only sharpened these concerns. In late May 2025, a grim discovery near Llangollen, Denbighshire, brought the risks into sharp focus: 875 wild pheasants were found dead, and tests on 22 of them confirmed the presence of bird flu. The site was perilously close to breeding grounds for threatened species such as curlews and black grouse. Just weeks later, another outbreak was confirmed at a commercial gamebird premises near Wrexham, where more than 20,000 pheasants and partridges were kept.
“It is known that pheasants present a risk of infecting wild birds, some of which are threatened at a national level,” Hughes told BBC News. The RSPB’s primary frustration, however, is directed not at the shooting industry but at what it sees as government inaction: “Our beef here is not with the shooting industry actually—it’s with the Welsh government for not being clear about a roadmap to proper rules.”
The licensing proposals under consideration would see gamekeepers applying for and, if necessary, paying for a permit from NRW to release birds in and around sensitive sites. Elsewhere, releases would be allowed under a general licence, with clear limits set on the number of birds introduced. The goal, supporters say, is to strike a balance between rural tradition and environmental protection.
But not everyone is convinced that tighter controls are the answer. Helen and Will Jones, who rear pheasants and run shoots from their farm near Hirnant, Powys, worry that the proposals mark the beginning of a clampdown on shooting. “We’re very passionate about it and the wildlife that’s returned here since we started running the shoot is quite incredible,” Will Jones told BBC News. “There are hedgehogs everywhere, the wild bird population is great and we’ve gone from no hares at all to over 70 resident on this ground—all done by basic management, all paid for by the shoot.”
The couple have implemented strict biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of avian flu, with Helen Jones emphasizing, “No-one wants that near their business as it could completely wipe you out.” She also warned that restrictions on shoots could have a profound impact on rural Wales: “Without the shooting community, the winter would be very bleak here—the local economy benefits from it in so many different ways.”
These economic concerns are echoed by political voices. James Evans, Welsh Conservative and chairman of the Senedd’s cross-party group on shooting and conservation, criticized the proposed regulations as excessive. “Shooting brings in millions to the local economy right across Wales—we should be protecting our rural way of life and not bringing in regulation that would damage that and fundamentally lead to job losses.”
The Welsh government, for its part, says it is treading carefully. “We’re currently reviewing information following the gamebird release consultation, as well as considering the impact of the continuously changing situation with regards to avian flu,” a spokesperson told BBC News. The government has committed to developing “a robust licensing approach” but has yet to announce a final decision. With the start of the autumn shooting season looming, campaigners warn that ministers risk missing a revised deadline for implementing the new system—and with it, a chance to better protect Wales’s unique wildlife.
As the dust settles in Norfolk and the debate intensifies in Wales, the story of bird flu in the UK remains one of hard choices, competing interests, and the ever-present challenge of balancing economic realities with the health of the natural world.
