Overview
- Authorities confirmed H5N1 in one laying‑hen barn at a Grafschaft Bentheim complex housing 436,000 birds, with EU rules typically requiring whole‑farm depopulation unless a tightly monitored exception is approved.
- Germany now counts more than 100 farm outbreaks and roughly 1.5 million birds culled nationwide, with over half of the outbreaks in Lower Saxony, according to the Friedrich‑Loeffler‑Institut.
- Lower Saxony’s disease fund estimates about €17 million in costs so far, including around €5 million for humane killing, as producers report the fastest spread since October and vaccination remains constrained by EU trade rules and logistics.
- Regional measures widened as three holdings in Kreis Kleve were confirmed with H5N1 and protection and surveillance zones were established extending into parts of Kreis Wesel, while local stall‑housing orders continue in multiple districts.
- Public health agencies stress that properly cooked eggs and poultry remain safe, hobby keepers are reminded to register flocks, and new detections in wild birds and small private holdings underscore strict biosafety and separation from wildlife; Spain ordered quarantine measures for free‑range flocks.