THE Government has announced a change in avian flu restrictions with parts of West Sussex now categorised as high risk areas.

The Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has created an interactive map which shows an area of the South Downs National Park east of Midhurst extending down to the coast, and up to Billingshurst in the north as one of the high risk areas.

For people in higher risk areas, poultry owners must continue to keep birds housed or in fully netted enclosures as DEFRA believe the risk from wild birds is higher. High risk areas are close to large bodies of water where wild waterfowl congregate.

Outside those areas keepers can choose to continue to house birds, or let birds outside into fenced, but not necessarily fully netted, areas. But they must follow strict Defra guidance to reduce the risk of infection.

It includes a risk assessment to check outside areas are not contaminated and the risk of contact with wild birds is low.

West Sussex Trading Standards’ manager Peter Aston said: “For those within the high risk areas it’s more of the same restrictions, but we would stress to those outside the areas it’s not the end of all precautions.

“They must still exercise adequate bio-security and be vigilant for dead birds. If they wish to continue to keep birds housed or in fully netted areas in these lower risk areas then they may of course continue to do so - providing welfare does not suffer.”

Eggs and poultry sellers in high risk areas can still describe their products as free range if birds have access to fenced and netted outdoor areas but if they are kept indoors, product labelling must state that, he added.

• Visit www.gov.uk and search for ‘Avian Flu’ to view the map.