Licenses

If your premises are in a Protection Zone, Surveillance Zone, or Restricted Zone, a movement license will be required for certain activities. Movement licenses can be obtained from the APHA by calling 03000 200 301 or by emailing outbreak.licensing@apha.gov.uk

General licenses allow a movement or activity that would otherwise be prohibited in England and Wales. You need to check that you meet and comply with the conditions of the general license. If you do so, you do not need to apply – you can rely on the general license as providing authority for the movement or activity.

So far general licenses have been issued for the following activities (please note these are not valid for movements in or out of a Temporary Control Zone, and individual movement licenses will be required):

Movement of table eggs within or out of a Protection or Surveillance Zone

Spreading on premises or movement of used poultry litter, poultry manure, and poultry slurry originating from premises in a Protection or Surveillance Zone

Movement of poultry carcases for disposal from premises in a Protection Zone

Movement of poultry meat from poultry originating in a Protection Zone or an area that subsequently becomes a Protection Zone

Movement of mammals from or to premises in the Protection or Surveillance Zone where poultry or other captive birds are kept

Removal of the meat mark applied to certain poultry meat for the purposes of processing or repacking

Movement of samples for salmonella testing from premises in the Protection Zone or Surveillance Zone

Full details and a copy of each license can be obtained from the gov.uk website

Unless covered by a general license, poultry keepers will need to apply to the APHA for individual movement licenses. Please ensure you give the APHA as much notice as possible as it can take time to issue licenses. The APHA is likely to receive high volumes of license requests so contingency plans should be arranged in case there is any delay in licensing.

The following movements of poultry or poultry products will need to be licensed by a veterinary inspector:

Poultry from premises in the zone for immediate slaughter at a designated slaughterhouse

Poultry meat

Poultry to a designated slaughterhouse in the zone from premises outside the zone

Day-old chicks hatched from eggs produced in the zone or from eggs which came into contact with such eggs

Day-old chicks hatched from eggs originating outside the protection zone

Ready-to-lay poultry to premises or part of premises where no poultry are kept

Hatching eggs from the zone to a designated hatchery or premises

Eggs to a designated egg packing centre

Eggs to an egg processing plant

Eggs for disposal

Carcasses for disposal or diagnosis

Members should check with their processor or egg packer whether they are designated to receive live birds, meat, or eggs from farms within a Restricted, Protection, or Surveillance Zone, and have their designation details to hand when applying for movement licenses.

Unless your holding is under individual site-specific restrictions, feed can be brought onto the premises without a license as long as the requirements for cleansing and disinfection within your Zone are met.

If you have any licensing queries or aren’t sure whether or not you need a license, contact the APHA with your query by telephone on 03000 200 301 or by email at outbreak.licensing@apha.gov.uk

♦ Click here for the latest information from Defra on movement controls and licenses.

♦ Download Defra’s guide to biosecurity and preventing welfare impacts in poultry and captive birds – advice for all poultry keepers (including game birds, waterfowl, and pet birds)