Breeding ducks in Lincolnshire confirmed with avian influenza
© Tim Scrivener Highly pathogenic avian influenza has struck again, with a farm housing breeding ducks in Lincolnshire the latest to succumb to the disease.
The outbreak, confirmed on Saturday (11 April) on the premises near Market Rasen, is the first case in the UK in over a month, and came just two days after the Animal and Plant Health Agency lifted the mandatory housing order for England and Wales.
A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been declared around the premises, and all surviving poultry will be humanely culled.
See also: Poultry housing order to be lifted in England and Wales
Free-range poultry producers within those zones are also now required to house their birds once more.
As a duck breeding unit, the birds would have been indoors anyway, but the outbreak confirms that avian influenza is still a threat and reinforces the message from government and industry organisations that high biosecurity and vigilance are still essential.
At the time the housing order was lifted in England and Wales (9 April), deputy UK chief vet Jorge Martin-Almagro warned that, although the risk to poultry has reduced, “there remains a risk that poultry and other captive birds can still contract bird flu”.
“I urge keepers to take steps to prepare outdoor areas before letting birds out. It is still essential that birdkeepers remain vigilant and implement rigorous and strict biosecurity”.
Risk status
According to Defra, the current risk status in GB poultry is “low” on premises with stringent biosecurity, but remains “medium” in wild birds.
The last case in commercial poultry occurred in a flock of 500,000 free-range layers in the Scottish Borders on 24 January.
Since then, there have been a few cases in backyard flocks in England and Scotland, as well as in commercial pheasants in Northern Ireland.
In total, there have been 97 cases in the UK since 1 October 2025 – more than in the previous two “seasons”, but less than half the number recorded in 2022-23.