MADRID (Reuters) -Spain’s Agriculture Ministry ordered on Thursday to immediately lock down all poultry due to the risk of bird flu, it said in a statement.
The decision expands on measures announced last week, when Spain ordered poultry in designated high-risk areas to be kept indoors to curb the spread of bird flu.
It follows a rise in bird flu outbreaks across Europe, with 139 cases reported since July, and 14 in Spain, half of them in the Castille and Leon region.
“The measure has been taken following an increased risk of the disease entering Spain in the last week,” the ministry said in a statement.
The new order extends to all farms, including organic and small-scale producers, to prevent contact with migratory birds that could spread the virus. It also bans keeping ducks and geese with other poultry, using untreated surface water, and holding bird fairs or exhibitions.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo and Jesus Calero, editing by Andrei Khalip)
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