Bird flu fear shuts down Botanic Gardens aviary

14th February 2025

The bird houses at Botanic Gardens will be closed for an unknown length of time after bird flu alarms were raised across the country.

The popular aviary within the Gardens, which plays home to a number of rare and exotic birds, will be closed off to the public from Sunday 16th February.

It comes after a warning from DEFRA that bird flu cases are spreading quickly across the country.

CCTV is in operation at the aviary and people are being warned not to try and climb the gates to access the birds while the flu warning is in force.

From 00:01 on Sunday 16 February 2025 the avian influenza prevention zone (AIPZ) housing measures will be extended to cover Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Lancashire in addition to the East Riding of Yorkshire, City of Kingston Upon Hull, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Shropshire, York and North Yorkshire.
This means that will be a legal requirement for all bird keepers within the new zones to follow strict biosecurity measures and house their birds to help protect their flocks, of whatever type or size.
An avian influenza prevention zone (AIPZ) is in place across GB. This means that it is a legal requirement for all bird keepers within the zone to follow strict biosecurity measures to help protect their flocks, of whatever type or size.