British free range eggs to start returning to supermarkets soon as curbs lifted
British free range eggs will soon start returning to supermarket shelves, following the lifting of restrictions introduced last year by the government in an attempt to curb the spread of bird flu.
A legal requirement for poultry and other captive birds to be kept indoors was introduced in England last November, and in Wales the next month, in response to the UK’s largest-ever outbreak of avian influenza.
The move piled more pressure on poultry producers, who had already warned of supply shortages amid rising costs, which prompted some supermarkets to ration egg sales.
The government housing order was lifted at midnight on Tuesday, allowing hens and other birds to go outside for the first time in months. The chief veterinary officer confirmed the decision, after a new assessment of the risk of avian influenza.
As a result, boxes of eggs will be able to once again be labelled “free range”. Eggs cannot be classed as free range if the birds which have laid them have been kept indoors for longer than 16 weeks. After that time, eggs are required to be called barn eggs.
The ongoing outbreak of H5N1 bird flu was first confirmed in the UK in late October 2021, and accelerated during 2022.
Officials have said the disease circulates among wild birds, but it is also deadly for captive birds including hens and turkeys.
Outbreaks are devastating for farmers because they sweep through flocks, and prompt a cull of birds that have not succumbed to the illness.
While the lifting of the housing order has been widely welcomed, officials are warning bird keepers to keep biosecurity measures in place to prevent future outbreaks.
Dr Christine Middlemiss, the UK’s chief veterinary officer, said: “The unprecedented nature of this outbreak has proved it’s
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