Establishing biosecurity measures for poultry holdings

On Tuesday, 28 February, the government supported the amendments made by the Ministry of Agriculture (ZM) to the regulations establishing a set of biosecurity measures for animal housing. Amendments to the rules are prepared to establish biosecurity measures for holdings where poultry is kept.
Changes to the rules shall determine the animal owners or keepers who cultivate or keep poultry (chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl, geese, ducks, quail, pigeons, pheasants, parasites and other birds kept in fenced areas), to comply with biosecurity measures to protect poultry flocks from the spread of avian influenza in them.
The Regulations provide that the animal owner shall ensure compliance with the following requirements during the period from 1 March 2017 to 31 May 2017:

• keeping all poultry in closed spaces, preventing contact with wild birds and animals;
• trade in poultry and hatching eggs is prohibited;
• markets, exhibitions, views and other activities with the participation of poultry are prohibited;
• the use of water obtained in surface water reservoirs is prohibited for the watering of poultry;
• employees are provided with work or shift clothing and footwear. The working or changing clothing and footwear are used only in the poultry holding.

The biosecurity measures include that the animal owner must be kept in the quarters or in a demarcated area, as well as poultry feed and litter, in such a way as to prevent the access of wild birds.
The rules also provide that the animal owner must limit the access of non-attached persons to poultry holdings. In cases where the presence of poultry is suspected, such as the reduction in the consumption of feed and water, the massive death of poultry, the occurrence of acute blood diarrhoea, the suffocation, the signs of respiratory (respiratory tract) infection, should be immediately reported to the practising veterinarian or the territorial unit of the Food and Veterinary Service.
It is also stipulated that poultry bodies, parts of wild bird bodies or any other contaminated material or object which may be a distributor of an infectious disease shall be prohibited from entering the poultry holding.
The Ministry of Agriculture wishes to recall that, in accordance with the laws and regulations, poultry owners and keepers (even if only one or two poultry are kept in the holding) in the agricultural data centre (LDC) must register both the herd and the holding and provide information on the number of birds twice per year for 1 January and 1 July. In the event that avian influenza is detected in a holding which has not registered poultry IN THE LDC, it will not be able to receive compensation for the herd disposed of due to illness. More information on logging is available on THE ZM website.
More information on amendments to Cabinet Regulation No. 291 of 9 June 2015, Regulations Regarding the Package of Biosafety Measures for History of Animals, is available on THE MK web site.
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The information was prepared by:
Victoria Kalniņa
public relations specialist
phone: 67027622
viktorija.kalnina@zm.gov.lv