UK farmers have been warned that turkeys and chickens must be kept indoors, as England is facing the largest ever bird flu outbreak.
From next week, producers will have to keep all of their captive birds and poultry indoors - under orders from The Chief Veterinary officer.
Mandatory housing measures are being stepped up by the UK's chief veterinary officer.
It will also be a requirement from farmers to follow stringent biosecurity measures to help protect flocks from disease.
These new rules will come into force at one minute past midnight on Monday, 7 November, which means that owners have been given a weeks' notice to prepare.
This announcement comes after the national risk of bird flu in wild birds was raised to 'very high', and after the whole of Great Britain was made a bird flu prevention zone two weeks ago.
Speaking about this, Chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said: "We are now facing this year the largest ever outbreak of bird flu and are seeing rapid escalation in the number of cases on commercial farms and in backyard birds across England.
"The risk of kept birds being exposed to disease has reached a point where it is now necessary for all birds to be housed until further notice.
"Scrupulous biosecurity and separating flocks in all ways from wild birds remain the best form of defence."
She added that the measures apply to all bird owners - whether they keep just a few birds, or thousands.
She added: "This decision has not been taken lightly, but is the best way to protect your birds from this highly infectious disease."
This comes following news that farmer Steve Childerhouse, 51, was forced to cull his entire flock of 10,000 turkeys.
He said that producers have been “absolutely hammered” by the UK’s worst-ever outbreak of avian flu this year, and is worried that UK Christmas dinner tables may be left empty due to the worst-ever bird flu outbreak.
The farmer added that the usual stock levels of turkeys and geese were “just not going to be there” this winter, saying that families may be forced to find an alternative to the traditional Christmas roast.
Meanwhile a government spokesperson said on Friday (Oct 28) that in the past 12 months, the UK has so far faced around 200 cases of bird flu across the country.
And in the past month there have also been outbreaks in Somerset, Oxford, Staffordshire, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, Devon and Cheshire, report The Guardian.
