CHAPTER IV U.K.HIGHLY PATHOGENIC AVIAN INFLUENZA (HPAI)

SECTION 3 U.K.Measures to be applied in protection zones

Article 19 U.K.Measures to be applied on holdings in protection zones

The competent authority shall ensure that the following measures are applied on holdings in protection zones:

(a)

all poultry and other captive birds are brought inside a building on their holding and kept there. Where this is impractical or if their welfare is compromised, they are confined in some other place on the same holding such that they do not have contact with other poultry or other captive birds on other holdings. All reasonable steps are taken to minimise their contact with wild birds;

(b)

carcases are disposed of as soon as possible;

(c)

vehicles and equipment used for transporting live poultry or other captive birds, meat, feed, manure, slurry and bedding and any other material or substances likely to be contaminated, undergo without delay one or more of the procedures provided for in Article 48;

(d)

all parts of vehicles used by staff or other persons which enter or leave holdings and are likely to have become contaminated undergo without delay one or more of the procedures provided for in Article 48;

(e)

no poultry, other captive birds or domestic mammals may enter or leave a holding without authorisation of the competent authority. This restriction shall not apply to mammals which have access only to the living areas for humans in which they:

(i)

have no contact with resident poultry or other captive birds, and

(ii)

have no access to any cages or areas where such resident poultry or other captive birds are kept;

(f)

any increased morbidity or mortality or significant drop in production data in holdings is immediately reported to the competent authority, which shall carry out appropriate investigations in accordance with the diagnostic manual;

(g)

any person entering or leaving holdings observes appropriate biosecurity measures aimed at preventing the spread of avian influenza;

(h)

records of all persons visiting holdings, except dwellings, are kept by the owner in order to facilitate disease surveillance and control and must be made available upon request by the competent authority. Such records do not have to be kept where the visitors are to holdings such as zoos and wildlife parks where they have no access to the areas where the birds are kept.