Nafferton bird flu restrictions lifted

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Restrictions on the movement of poultry in East Yorkshire after an outbreak of bird flu at a duck breeding farm have been lifted.

The strain found on the farm at Nafferton was identified as H5N8 - the same type seen in outbreaks in Europe.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the rules which had been in place since 16 November were no longer needed.

No-one at the farm was available for comment.

Officials had stressed the strain found at the farm, near Driffield, where some 6,000 ducks had to be culled, was not the H5N1 form which is deadly to humans.

Poultry movements

In a statement, Defra said: "All restrictions following the outbreak of Avian Flu in Yorkshire last month have now been lifted.

"This means that all poultry keeping farms within the 10 kilometre (6 mile) surveillance zone around the infected property are now allowed to move poultry and other animals without restriction.

"Other restrictions covering the storage, transport and sourcing of meat products are also lifted."

Tackling outbreak

Chief vet Nigel Gibbens said: "Protecting our country from animal diseases is important for our economy, and our robust and thorough approach to tackling this outbreak means we are able to lift these restrictions at the earliest possible point allowed by EU law."

The East Yorkshire outbreak was the first serious case of bird flu in the UK since 2008, when the H7N7 strand was found in free range hens near Banbury, Oxfordshire.

The exclusion zone banned movements of all poultry, products and waste within the area.

A protected zone which imposed additional movement controls on properties within 3km (1.9 miles) of the infected farm was lifted on Friday 12 December.