UK Consumers Will No Longer Be Able to Buy Free-Range Chicken Eggs Starting Monday

Consumers in the UK will no longer be able to purchase free-range eggs as of Monday since chickens have not been permitted outside since November due to worries of avian flu outbreaks.

Shop-bought eggs will have to bear a sticker or label stating that they are "barn eggs," the term for eggs produced by chickens who are continuously confined indoors.

UK Avian Flu

This winter, the UK was plagued by the "biggest ever outbreak of avian flu," according to government experts, with more than 80 occurrences documented in England.

As a result, the UK government has ordered that birds raised for meat and eggs be kept indoors since November to minimize the danger of epidemics. Their eggs can no longer be labeled free-range due to the amount of time they have been kept indoors.

The restrictions apply to all birds, whether a single hen raises them in a backyard or a large-scale poultry operation.

Farmers thought the government would withdraw the housing ban next week, but officials have decided to keep it in place due to fresh bird flu occurrences in the last week.

Daniel Brown, an egg producer in Suffolk with around 40,000 free-range chickens, said his birds had fared well indoors thus far. They've provided them with other items in the shed like hay and grit to keep them occupied.

Brown believes that as the weather warms, bird flu incidences will decrease and that the newest house ban will be lifted soon.

He claims that a chicken won't mind not being outdoors in December and January, but they'll want to stay out late into the evening when the weather warms up in May.

This year's avian flu outbreaks have not been limited to the United Kingdom; continental Europe has also had one of its worst winters for the disease.

France has been testing avian influenza vaccinations, but the problem has been compounded by the different types of bird flu and import limits on poultry products from countries that vaccinate animals.

Past the Grace Period

The 16-week grace period they permitted for free-range eggs has now been exceeded, and eggs must now be sold as 'barn eggs," a representative for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated. They worked extensively with the industry and retailers to implement these changes smoothly.

According to the British Retail Consortium, supermarkets will provide notice to explain the change to customers, but "eggs will go back to being free-range once the present controls are withdrawn."

"Shoppers may see different labels on egg packets stating that the eggs were laid by chickens temporarily kept to preserve their health and wellbeing," said Aimee Mahony, the National Farmers' Union's top poultry expert. Birds will be permitted to go outside again once the danger levels have decreased and Defra's dwelling restrictions have been eliminated."

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