The so-called keeping and shielding obligation for poultry will be lifted immediately in large parts of the Netherlands. Minister Piet Adema (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, ChristenUnie) announced this on Thursday to the House of Representatives. Adema comes to the decision because, according to experts, there is no longer a great risk of bird flu. In the ‘poultry-dense’ regions of Gelderse Vallei and Limburgse Peel, the ban on letting poultry outside will remain in force for the time being.
breath writes to the House that he thinks he has struck a balance ‘between the risk of spreading bird flu’ and ‘other interests’ such as animal welfare and the economic interests of the relevant poultry farmers with free-range chickens.
The confinement obligation has been in effect since October 5 last year – the past nine months have been the longest consecutive period ever that poultry was not allowed to go outside in the Netherlands. The reason: never before has the bird flu virus been so present among the wild bird population. In wild birds, the virus often causes little or no disease, but the risk of mutations that could pose a danger to humans is always lurking in closely-knit populations.
Also read this article from 2022: Bird flu is always around. Why are virologists holding their breath now?
Since the introduction of the penning obligation, millions of birds have been culled, often ‘as a precaution’. Recently, the risk of infection has decreased, concluded the animal diseases expert group recommended by the cabinet. The group considers the chance of a bird flu infection at a poultry farm to be “moderate”, now that the confinement obligation is largely abolished. The last outbreak on a commercial poultry farm took place on January 26 this year.