All poultry in Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex must be kept indoors from Wednesday as part of a stepping up of measures to stop the spread of bird flu, the Government said.
The affected areas were moved to an avian flu prevention zone last month after a series of outbreaks.
Last year, 161 cases were detected in captive birds – the UK’s biggest outbreak to date.
The previous record was 26 detected cases in 2020/21.
All bird keepers in affected areas are required by law to keep their flocks indoors and follow strict biosecurity measures to protect them from the disease, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.
The measures apply regardless of the type and size of the flock of birds.
Around 48 million birds have been killed in the UK and EU this year amid the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The government said the 3.2 million birds culled in Britain accounted for a “small proportion” of total production – around 20 million birds a week.
More than 1,700 cases have also been recorded in the UK wild bird population at 406 sites covering 59 species.
In recent years, the virus has died out mainly during the summer months, but this outbreak has persisted throughout the year and spread more easily.
Mandatory containment measures for all poultry and captive birds are being introduced following a decision by UK Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss.
She encourages all bird keepers in the affected regions to prepare over the next few days, including taking animal welfare measures, consulting with their veterinarian and expanding housing if necessary.
Ms Middlemiss said there was a growing number of cases of bird flu on “commercial farms and among backyard birds” in the three affected counties, adding that she expected the “risk to continue to rise in the coming months as migratory birds enter the UK.” to return”. .
“We are now taking further action to protect herds from this highly contagious and devastating disease.”
The ban, announced by Defra on September 28, also affected Devon, Cornwall and parts of Somerset – but those areas have not yet been instructed to keep birds indoors.
Instead, all gatherings of poultry – such as fairs or markets – will be banned, and bird keepers will be urged to clean and disinfect clothing and equipment before and after contact with birds.
The latest bird flu figures, covering both Europe and the UK and tracking outbreaks from October 2021 to September 9, were released on Monday. They showed there were 3,573 findings in wild birds, with the virus affecting 37 countries and spreading from Svalbard to southern Portugal and east to Ukraine. But it warned the figure could be an underestimate.
While there have been no recorded cases of human transmission in the EU, there was one case in south-west England in January.
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