Animal disease control

What is a 'notifiable disease'?

‘Notifiable’ diseases are animal diseases that you’re legally obliged to report to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), even if you only suspect they are affected.

Notifiable diseases can be:

• endemic – already present in the UK, such as 'bovine TB'
  
• exotic – not normally present in the UK, such as 'foot and mouth disease' and avian influenza (bird flu).

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) provides more information about  notifiable diseases in animals on the GOV.UK website.

Are there any current notifiable disease restrictions affecting livestock or poultry in the East Riding?  

Two cases of  highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) have been confirmed on farms near Pocklington. 10km disease control zones have been introduced around the affected premises, placing restrictions on bird keepers. The latest information on all cases, the restrictions and an interactive map to check if you are in a disease control zone can be found on GOV.UK - Avian influenza (external website).

Avian influenza (bird flu) mainly affects birds, although it can also affect humans and other mammals. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said the risk to the general public’s health is very low. People should not touch or pick up any dead or visibly sick birds that they find, advice on what to do if you find dead wild birds can be found on GOV.UK - Avian influenza (external website).

Elsewhere the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) remains in place. The AIPZ makes it a legal requirement for all bird keepers in Great Britain (whether they have pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock) to take biosecurity measures and keep records and from 29 November 2021 birds must be housed.

Further details of the measures that apply in the AIPZ in England can be found on GOV.UK - Avian influenza (external website)

Maintaining a high biosecurity of standard remains an important measure to help reduce the risk of further avian influenza (bird flu) outbreaks. Poultry and captive bird keepers should remain vigilant for any signs of disease in their birds, and seek prompt advice from their vet if they have any concerns. 

All poultry keepers are still encouraged to register their birds on the GB Poultry register so they can be contacted quickly if there is a disease outbreak in their area. This is a legal requirement for keepers of more than 50 birds and highly recommended for all keepers. 

GOV.UK - How to register your birds (external website)

How can I protect my livestock and poultry from disease?

Livestock

The maintenance of strict biosecurity procedures will minimise the risk of infection, as will remaining vigilant for signs of disease and reporting suspicions immediately.

Read information about controlling disease in farm animals on the GOV.UK website.

Poultry

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have produced some useful guidance on protecting poultry:

Defra - Biosecurity and preventing welfare impacts in poultry and captive birds (pdf 246kb)

Defra - Help protect your birds from the risk of birdflu leaflet (pdf 1.2mb)Defra - Biosecurity self-assessment check list (MS Word 22kb)

Who should I contact if I suspect a notifiable disease?

If you notice signs of any notifiable disease in your livestock, you must report them immediately to your local Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) office.

The East Riding is in the APHA 'North Region' and can be contacted on:

Tel: 03000 200 301

Please note: if you find dead wild birds such as swans, geese, ducks, gulls or birds of prey, you should report this to the Defra helpline, as they may want to collect and test them for bird flu.

Tel: 03459 335577

How do I report other concerns about animal disease controls?

Report a concern about animal disease controls