ALL poultry in England are to be allowed outside following a new assessment of the risk they could catch bird flu from wild birds, the Government said.

Flocks which were still being housed or under netting to protect them because they were in "higher risk areas", near lakes or estuaries where wild birds gather in numbers, can be brought outside again, chief veterinary office Nigel Gibbens said.

The move, which is permitted from Thursday April 13, brings rules for poultry in the higher risk areas in line with the rest of England, where flocks had already been permitted outside again.

All poultry and bird keepers in England must continue to comply with strict biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of bird flu, and a ban on poultry fairs and gatherings is still in place.

Commercial and individual poultry and captive bird keepers were first ordered in December to keep their birds inside or take steps to separate them from wild birds, to protect against a highly pathogenic avian flu H5N8 circulating in Europe.

There have been a number of outbreaks of the virus in poultry and wild birds in the UK since then.

Normally-free range eggs have carried labels making it clear that birds have been housed for their welfare due to the threat of avian influenza.

But with the lifting of the rules, all eggs from birds which remain housed are no longer considered to be free range and must not be labelled as such, the Environment Department (Defra) said.

The higher risk area restrictions have been lifted following the latest scientific and veterinary advice, which concluded the risk of transmission from wild birds was now the same as the rest of the country as most over-wintering migratory birds have left.

Resident wild waterfowl are at the lowest levels and are entering the breeding season when they become less likely to move far for food and thus spread disease.

Prof Gibbens said: "Based on the latest evidence on reduced numbers of migratory and resident aquatic wild birds we believe that kept birds in the areas we previously designated as higher risk are now at the same level of risk as the rest of England and may now be let outside.

"However, all keepers must still observe strict disease prevention measures to reduce the risk of contamination from the environment, where the virus can survive for several weeks in bird droppings.

"This does not mean business as usual: the risk from avian flu has not gone away and a prevention zone remains in place, requiring keepers across England to take steps to prevent disease spreading."