GB Poultry Register – consultation on potential changes

Defra has confirmed that the threshold for mandatory registration on the GB Poultry Register will be reduced from 50 birds to 1 and all poultry keepers will be required to review their entry on an annual basis.

The changes should assist the government in carrying out disease surveillance and important communication activity in a timely manner, helping protect the health of the national flock.

Following the consultation, Defra and the devolved administrations have agreed to make the following changes in England, Wales and Scotland:

• The threshold for mandatory registration will be reduced from 50 to 1, which means all poultry and captive bird keepers will be legally required to register their birds.
• Poultry keepers will be required to review their poultry register entry annually to ensure their details are up to date.

In England and Wales, keepers are encouraged to register their birds ahead of the legal deadline on 1 October 2024.

Read more on the NFU's reaction at: Defra announces changes to the GB poultry register.

This consultation has now closed.

The NFU supported the government’s preferred option of reducing the threshold for mandatory registration of poultry to one bird, however our response did register concerns about unintended consequences for commercial keepers.

We urged the government to work closely with the poultry sector to identify and consider any unintended consequences and through enforcement and relevant legislation ensure that by expanding the reach of the poultry register, there is no additional burden as a result for commercial poultry keepers.

The NFU was also supportive of the proposed requirement for poultry keepers to review and update their information annually on the register as this will help keep an accurate record of key details and enable keepers to provide any updated information.

Defra has launched a new consultation asking bird keepers for their views on making it compulsory for any keeper to register poultry with the APHA (Animal Plant and Health Agency), rather than just those with over 50 birds.

The current legislation means that anyone who has more than 50 poultry at a single premises must register their birds on the Great Britain Poultry Register.

The consultation, which launched on 7 March 2023, asks whether this should be extended to:

• all bird keepers or only keepers with 10 or more birds
• include mandatory annual updates

Potential changes are aimed at improving the APHAs response to disease outbreaks, making it easier for keepers to receive important updates and information about confirmed cases, surveillance and monitoring, and biosecurity measures.

NFU Chief Poultry Adviser Aimee Mahony said: “Since 2017 the NFU has been actively engaged in reviewing the GB Poultry Register. Therefore we are pleased to see that the government have finally launched a consultation to consider the accuracy and relevance of the information it holds on poultry keepers of all scales and sizes.

“The main aim for us is to ensure that the register is fit for purpose and that accurate and timely information can be delivered to all poultry keepers, which in turn will help protect the health of the national flock.

“We welcome the confirmation that the devolved governments in Great Britain are working together via this consultation and we are encouraging members to feed in to the NFU’s response to ensure that we accurately represent what’s best for the future of the industry”.