Birds: Licensing
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason Passeriformes was included under the Specific Licence effective from 8 December, 2025.
Answered by Dame Angela Eagle
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Regulation 6 of the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended, sets out the legal basis for permitting gatherings of poultry or other captive birds. In England, a licence to hold a bird gathering may be granted by Defra if a veterinary risk assessment has been carried out, and if the gathering, including the movement of birds to and from it, would not significantly increase the risk of the transmission of avian influenza.
The November 2025 qualitative risk assessment assessed the overall risk of spread of avian influenza at a gathering of Passeriformes as medium.
Given the heightened risk in December 2025, gatherings involving Passeriformes could not be permitted by general licence. They were therefore permitted only by specific licence, allowing case-by-case assessment and tailored risk mitigation measures.
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