News item | 30-10-2021 | 13:03
In Grootschermer (municipality of Alkmaar, province of North Holland) bird flu (H5) was diagnosed at a poultry farm with broilers. It is probably a highly pathogenic variant of bird flu. To prevent the spread of the virus, the company is being culled. This concerns approximately 107,000 animals. The culling is carried out by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).
There is one other poultry farm within a radius of 1 kilometer around the company. This company has been blocked and is intensively monitored and investigated for bird flu. Because there is no other commercial poultry farm in the area of 10 kilometers around the infected farm (and the nearby farm) in Grootschermer, it was decided not to clear out preventively, but to block and monitor this farm.
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Transport ban for the large fencer
A transport ban for poultry farms has been announced with immediate effect in a zone of 10 kilometers around the company in Grootschermer. A transport ban applies to all birds and hatching and table eggs from a location with birds. The ban also applies to poultry manure and used litter, and to other animals and animal products from poultry farms.
National measures
As a result of a bird flu infection on a company earlier this week, a national obligation to keep and shield the animals has been established. This will remain in full force. The confinement obligation applies to commercially kept birds, these are brought indoors. A screening obligation applies to non-commercially kept high-risk birds (fowls/chickens, waterfowl and ratites), for example in zoos, petting zoos and owners of hobby birds and chickens. It must be prevented as much as possible that the birds come into contact with sick wild birds or their droppings. This can be done, for example, by keeping the animals in an aviary. On the website More information can be found from the NVWA about how this can best be done. A ban has also been imposed on the display of poultry, waterfowl and ratites.
Keepers of laying hens, breeding stock and broiler chickens are still subject to a stricter reporting obligation. In this context, poultry farmers must report the loss of their poultry to the NVWA earlier, so that infections with bird flu can come to light earlier and the chance of spreading is reduced.
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