As of this July, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ordered the closure of all outdoor poultry farms in Spain to prevent and control bird flu infections. This new decision expands the quarantine on poultry to include the entire country, which since last month has affected about 1,200 Spanish municipalities located in areas considered to have special risks and monitoring, in order to avoid contact with infected wild migratory birds.
According to the Ministry, this comes in defense of preventive measures against bird flu, given the increasing risk of the spread of this highly contagious disease. Under an order published in the Official Gazette of the State this July, and which has entered into force today, the government decided to confine open-air poultry farms with any of the current breeding methods, including environmental farms and those intended for self-consumption or in which eggs or meat are produced for direct sale to the final consumer.
In this way, the rearing and keeping of poultry and other wild birds on free ranges is prohibited, even when it is not possible for the authorities to allow the rearing of birds on free ranges under a series of conditions. When it is not possible to confine a farm, authorities may permit roof screens or other devices that prevent the entry of wild birds, and when birds are fed inside facilities or in a shelter that prevents wild birds from accessing and contacting food or water intended for poultry.
It is also prohibited to raise ducks and geese with other types of poultry. Give water to poultry from water tanks that could reach wild birds, unless the water is treated; As well as the presence of wild or captive birds in animal concentration centers such as livestock events, exhibitions and cultural celebrations. However, the competent authorities of autonomous communities and cities can authorize such concentrations when the birds come from their city or region and a risk assessment is carried out leading to a positive result.
These measures, adopted in a precautionary manner, must be applied without prejudice to other measures that have been approved in the communities and cities of Ceuta and Melilla since November 10, within the framework of the Ministry’s declaration of a state of high epidemiological risk.
By the end of the year, 14 avian influenza outbreaks had been reported in poultry, five in captive birds and 68 in wild birds, all belonging to the H5N1 subtype, according to the ministry. Furthermore, over the past four weeks, the number of outbreaks among poultry and wild birds reported in Central and Northern European countries has increased “significantly”, with a large number of migratory birds arriving in Spain with the arrival of winter. The Ministry considered that there was a “clear risk of transmission of infection” from wild birds to farms where breeding takes place outdoors, and for this reason it adopted the confinement of poultry birds as a precautionary measure.
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