Bird flu restrictions eased after disease controls

Bird flu restrictions that required poultry and other captive birds to be housed in part of Shropshire have been eased.

As part of the restrictions rolled out earlier this year, a 3km (1.8-mile) protection zone was put in place.

It followed an outbreak at Griffiths Family Farms - part of Oakland Farm Eggs - near Wem in January.

About one million hens had to be culled at the site, one of the UK's largest poultry farms, after the flock tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain.

On Saturday, a spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said disease control activities had been completed.

While the protection zone has been lifted, the site remains part of the wider 10km (6.2-mile) surveillance zone, which extends into the Wrexham local authority area.

All poultry and captive birds in Shropshire, along with many other counties, remain subject to housing conditions, which means they must be kept inside.

They also must not be moved without a licence.

Update 16 April: An earlier version of this story suggested birds within the surveillance zone in Shropshire were not subject to housing restrictions

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