Czech Republic orders poultry to be kept indoors due to bird flu

Due to the occurrence of bird flu in the Czech Republic, authorities have imposed a nationwide obligation to keep poultry indoors, the State Veterinary Service (SVS) announced in Prague on Tuesday.

Pigeons and large, flightless birds such as ostriches are exempt.

Previously, the H5N1 avian flu virus had been detected in a goose-breeding farm south-east of Ceske Budejovice, among other places. Around 2,000 animals had to be slaughtered there.

The slaughtered birds had access to a pond and probably contracted the disease from wild animals.

There had already been a major wave of bird flu in the Czech Republic in the spring. About a quarter of a million animals had to be killed because of the dangerous virus.

Bird flu is a highly contagious disease that mainly affects chickens, turkeys and ducks.