Compulsory housing orders have been introduced across all of England, Wales and Northern Ireland in a bid to combat the ‘significantly elevated threat’ of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI, Bird Flu).
It was only a couple of weeks ago that a mandatory housing order was announced in a number of specified counties in England that were considered to be at high risk (see here) but this has now been extended to all counties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as the number of outbreaks has increased.
The compulsory housing order in England came in to force on 6 November 2025 (see press release from Defra here), on 6 November 2025 in Northern Ireland (see press release from DAERA here), and will begin across Wales from 13 November 2025 (see press release from Welsh Government here).
In the last two weeks, outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza have been declared as follows:
ENGLAND
Nr Brandon, West Suffolk (AIV2025/72), 29 October 2025. Centred around grid ref TL8255580834.
Nr Silloth, Cumbria (AIV2025/73), 30 October 2025. Centred around grid ref NY1547552282.
Ormesby St Margaret, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk (AIV2025/76), 31 October 2025. Centred around grid ref TG4779815037.
Nr Uckfield, East Sussex (AIV2025/77), 31 October 2025. Centred around grid ref TQ4618819591.
Nr Swineshead, Boston, Lincolnshire (AIV2025/78), 31 October 2025. Centred around grid ref TF2346644599.
Nr Honington, West Suffolk (AIV2025/79), 1 November 2025. Centred around grid ref TL8733176223.
Nr Donington, South Holland, Lincolnshire (AIV2025/80), 1 November 2025. Centred around grid ref TF1806934759.
Nr Easingwold, Wetherby, North Yorkshire (AIV2025/81), 2 November 2025. Centred around grid ref SE4688267829.
Nr Thirsk, Malton, North Yorkshire (AIV2025/82), 3 November 2025. Centred around grid ref SE4264286835.
Nr Danehill, Wealdon, East Sussex (AIV2025/83), 3 November 2025. Centred around grid ref TQ4017627749.
Nr Crediton, Devon (AIV2025/84), 3 November 2025. Centred around grid ref SS8488401552.
Nr Wells-Next-The-Sea, Norfolk (AIV2025/85), 4 November 2025. Centred around grid ref TF9251339872.
Nr PreeSall, Wyre, Lancashire (AIV2025/86), 5 November 2025. Centred around grid ref SD3750947393.
Nr Corby Glen, South Kesteven, Lincolnshire (AIV2025/87), 5 November 2025. Centred around grid ref SK9989228984.
Nr Kirkham, Fylde, Lancashire (AIV2025/89), 6 November 2025. Centred around grid ref SD4231130456.
Nr Feltwell, Kings Lynn, Norfolk (AIV2025/90), 7 November 2025. Centred around grid ref TL6882188273.
Nr Attleborough, Breckland, Norfolk (AIV2025/91), 7 November 2025. Centred around grid ref TL9706396683.
Nr Alford, East Lindsey, Lincolnshire (AIV2025/92), 7 November 2025. Centred around grid ref TF5111273185.
Another outbreak nr Thirsk, Malton, North Yorkshire (AIV2025/93), 7 November 2025. Centred around grid ref SE3734980599.
Nr Hallow, Malvern Hills, Worcestershire (AIV2025/94), 8 November 2025. Centred around grid ref SO8170562012.
WALES
Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, declared 30 October 2025. Centred around grid ref SM8974508587.
Second case at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, declared 31 October 2025. Centred around grid ref SM8949908967.
Third case at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, declared 6 November 2025. Centred around grid ref SM8924307999.
Nr Welshpool, Powys (AIV2025/95), declared 9 November 2025. Centred around grid ref SJ2348703135.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Nr Pomeroy, County Tyrone, declared 7 November 2025. Grid ref not available.
Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh, declared 7 November 2025. Grid ref not available.
County Armagh, declared 10 November 2025 after outbreak in Monaghan, Irish Republic, just across the border.
SCOTLAND
There are currently no confirmed outbreaks in Scotland
Many of the reported incidents have resulted in the declaration of a 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone around the infected premises, with flocks culled and strict biosecurity measures in place.
The former Director of Science at the Government’s Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA), Professor Ian Brown, has warned that the current H5N1 virus is “as super-infectious as any high pathogenicity avian influenza we’ve ever seen” and has warned farmers to “prepare for the worst” (see here).
Amidst all this, conservationists have argued that the release of ~60 million non-native gamebirds for shooting created more risk for the spread of this highly contagious disease, especially when research revealed that a large number of shooting estates were not even declaring they had birds, making it impossible for Defra and APHA (Animal & Plant Health Agency) to monitor and manage the risk.
Defra and Natural England responded by withdrawing General Licence 45 (the licence permitting the release of gamebirds on or within 500m of a Special Protected Area (SPA)) and heavily reducing the number of individual licences for the same purpose (see here). In August, enhanced mandatory biosecurity measures were also introduced, including for game bird shoots, and these remain in place, although not all game shoots are complying….more on this shortly.
Raptor Persecution UK 
No more game birds should be allowed to be released, all shooting should be stopped, if not now then certainly from next season.
This virus is well established in the USA where it has made the transition from Birds to cattle and from cattle to humans. Kennedy Jnr has now stopped all testing for bird flu virus in people because so many were testing positive, talk about putting your head in the sand. What is being done to stop beef being imported into UK?
Current US situation for HPAI in people:
https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html
In total, there have been 1082 confirmed US cases of HPAI in cattle in 18 States (all dairy milking cows, none in beef cattle).
See: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/hpai-confirmed-cases-livestock
One year ago, it was estimated that 280 million wild birds had died, affecting 500 species:-( It had also infected 48 wild mammal species and some captive mammals in zoos:-(
https://www.wildlifevetsinternational.org/news/bird-flu—an-animal-pandemic#:~:text=Not%20only%20has%20it%20proved%20particularly%20effective,infected%20at%20least%2048%20new%20mammal%20species%5B11%5D.
Could we please remember that avian flu H5N1 originated in domestic geese in China. Industrial farming is the cause of this appalling disease which has spread to wild bird population, causing them to become innocent vectors and victims of this disease.
So many diseases seem to originate in the close contact farming in the far east, yet nothing appears to be changing or improving. How can they be ‘encouraged’ to improve? They carry on in the same way they have for generations.
“They carry on in the same way they have for generations.”
I don’t know about that. Factory farming in China has greatly intensified to meet their gigantic population. I read that in 2024 the Chinese killed 17.34 billion birds (chicken, ducks and geese) and that the Chinese Bureau of Statistics report that in 2023 the total number of birds slaughtered was 16.82 billion.
The days of masses and masses of small, local, mixed farms have gone. Viruses from birds would jump to pigs and then – like stepping stones – to humans… because they all lived cheek-by-jowl in fairly unsanitary conditions.
Now, they seem to specialise in fast-incubating new virus variants in giant chicken/duck/geese factories, and pump them full of antibiotics to try and keep the bacteria at bay:-( The recent influenza jump to cattle came in the USA, while the widespread jump to other mammals has happened in the wild.
(Interestingly, HPAI spreads between cattle through milk (mothers to off-spring) and not via the respiratory system. This badly hit the raw milk market in the States, where it is – quite strangely – popular as being ‘healthier’.
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/california-reports-h5n1-more-retail-raw-milk-virus-infects-2-more-dairy )
Sometimes, though, the food gets its own back in a big way: spanish flu, covid…
We have long been warned:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/14/asia-factory-farming-creating-global-health-risks-report-warns
Basic stuff.
Antibiotics can be effective against bacteria. However, there are antibiotic resistent bacteria.
Antibiotics have no effect on viruses. (although there could be a perceived improvement if there is a secondary bacterial infection)
If antibiotics are being used to treat primary viral infections then it increases the risk of more bacterial strains becoming antibiotic resistent.
Which isn’t good. For all animals (including H. sapiens)
“If antibiotics are being used to treat primary viral infections then it increases the risk of more bacterial strains becoming antibiotic resistent.”
Until fairly recently, in China, they were ubiquitously applied for prophylactic use and growth promotors:-(
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/19/can-china-kick-its-animal-antibiotic-habit
According to Our World in Data, China was the eighth highest user of antibiotics in livestock, per kg of livestock, in the world in 2020:-( Australia were ninth. India around 20th
In general, South America, Asia and Australasia are above the ‘recommended guideline’ usage (2023).
https://ourworldindata.org/antibiotics-livestock
The industrialisation of farming is commonly blamed on the public’s demand for ‘cheap food’. To my mind it is caused more by the insatiable demand for profit by food producers.
“To my mind it (industrialisation of farming) is caused more by the insatiable demand for profit by food producers.”
I strongly disagree. The margins for producers (farmers) and distributors (supermarkets) in this country are small. We simply could not feed the 70 million people we currently have (and growing rapidly:-( without the so-called green revolution (industrialisation of farming). As it is, we are still forced to import a huge proportion of what we eat:-(
Where producers are seen to be really well-off in this country is where they control absolutely vast land holdings, and can employ both the efficiencies of scale and accumulate the modest profits-per-unit-area over huge landscapes.
Some countries with significantly lower population densities are able to feed their populations without all the intense farming practises we employ. Typically, such countries still have (much) healthier insect and wildflower (weed) life, and are (therefore/also) significantly less biologically depleted.
At the other end of the scale, the Chinese have not only had to deal with their long-standing over-population crisis, but also shift from a largely agrarian to an industrial society, whereby there has been a mass movement of the population/labour from rural to urban living. In consequence, their agriculture has massively industrialised…