Overview
- An order published in the state bulletin on Thursday requires all outdoor‑reared poultry across Spain, including organic and backyard flocks, to be kept under cover or protected with netting where full indoor housing is not feasible.
- New rules also ban co‑rearing ducks or geese with other poultry, restrict use of untreated outdoor water sources, and prohibit the presence of birds at fairs, exhibitions and other animal concentration events.
- Spain has logged 14 outbreaks in poultry holdings this season, plus 53 detections in wild birds and five in captive birds, while 139 farm outbreaks have been reported across Europe since July.
- Roughly 2.5 million birds have been culled in Spain in recent months, and egg prices have climbed about 31% year‑on‑year, though major producers say they do not expect shortages.
- Health experts report low risk to the general public and say properly cooked eggs and poultry remain safe, as some Basque provincial authorities and free‑range producers criticize the nationwide confinement as premature and harmful to the sector.