The accreditation was marked at a special ceremony held at Aviagen's Edinburgh office yesterday (14 July). Simon Hall, Chief Veterinary Officer for Scotland, handed over the formal certificates to Aviagen's Head of UK Farming Operations, Tommy Taylor. The presentation marked the end of months of hard work by the Aviagen veterinary, production and laboratory teams beginning in October 2009.

The 'compartmentalisation' scheme is a ground-breaking new initiative designed to facilitate the export of chicks and eggs from accredited farms in the event of an avian influenza outbreak.

Compartmentalisation is a collaborative initiative developed in conjunction with the UK poultry breeding industry with involvement from the British Poultry Council, the Scottish Government and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), while inspections are carried out by Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA).

Simon Hall, Chief Veterinary Officer for Scotland said: "The UK poultry breeding industry has confirmed its status as a global leader after making the concept of compartmentalisation a reality.

"The final decision to accept exports of poultry in the event of an avian influenza outbreak lies with the receiving country but we hope that the initiative will be adopted throughout the world. Many countries are already looking to follow the example set in the UK."

Initially, the accreditation covers Aviagen's pedigree farms based in Scotland but the company has already started the compartmentalisation process at its Great Grandparent and Grand Parent farms.

Bill Stanley, Aviagen's Veterinary Health Director, Europe, commented: "This is big step not just for Aviagen but for the entire UK poultry breeding industry. All the major poultry breeders have collaborated with the British Poultry Council to ensure the best possible solution was found. We are hugely proud to be the first company to secure compartment status anywhere in the world."