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The Rt. Hon. Margaret Beckett, President of the European Agriculture Council, today welcomed the formal and unanimous adoption by the Council Ministers of the Avian Influenza Directive.

Mrs Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said the Directive strengthened the EU’s ability to better tackle any outbreak in birds should it occur.

The Directive, which updates an existing document, introduces a number of new powers and disease surveillance measures.

New measures include:-

• Allowing member states to slaughter birds found to have a low pathogenic virus and introduce movement controls around the affected area.
• Boosting surveillance for the disease with programmes for sampling of flocks
• Introducing powers to restrict movements on suspicion of disease and national or regional movement restrictions after disease is confirmed
• Allowing state vets to apply controls flexibly to keep industry operating in a biosecure way
• Requiring Member States to keep a central register of commercial poultry keepers

The new Directive will allow exemptions, for example, for rare species but only if disease control is not jeopardised.

Margaret Beckett said: “This Directive strengthens a Member State’s hand when tackling an outbreak of avian influenza should it occur.

“It introduces new powers, greater surveillance and a degree of flexibility which makes the UK and Europe better prepared to control the disease in birds and I welcome its adoption.”

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