Netherlands lifts nationwide bird flu housing order
Restrictions eased as risk declines, monitoring continues
22 April 2026
1 minute read
By: The Dutch government on Tuesday said it would end a nationwide order to keep chickens inside to contain the spread of bird flu, as the risk of contagion had fallen, reported Reuters.
The order was issued in October last year as infections spread rapidly on farms across the Netherlands, a major exporter of poultry, eggs and other agricultural products.
The government said the situation would be closely monitored as bird flu had not yet disappeared. It maintained the order to keep chickens inside in a part of the Gelderland province where a relatively large number of poultry farms are located.
