“Do you have chickens in your backyard?'' Register now or you'll break the law,'' Britons have been warned by state media as new rules come into effect today that draw the backyard crowd into industrial bureaucracy.
It's hard to believe that Western governments would use a virus like influenza to suppress freedoms, but the British government is working on it nonetheless, and from today anyone who keeps unauthorized chickens on their property will be banned. But it would be breaking the law.
People who keep chickens in their gardens and fail to comply with mandatory registration, which is intended to allow for “more effective monitoring”, risk “fines or imprisonment”.
The rule change, announced in the spring, removes previous exemptions for backyard flocks and small-scale breeding, which would require people with fewer than 50 birds, including chickens and ducks, to notify the government. This means that long-standing breeding practices can be continued. Their food is not compromised.
But despite national broadcaster BBC, government remains concerned about bird flu memo The number of birds eligible for reporting has been reduced to one because “no recent cases have been reported in captive birds.”
The deadline to register with the Animal and Plant Health Agency was October 1st in England and Wales and December 1st in Scotland, and chicken farmers were encouraged to register early. as explained The NFU said: “Bird keepers will need to provide information including contact details, where the birds are housed and details of the birds (type, number and purpose for keeping them).”
There are exceptions for birds such as parrots, as long as they are never allowed outside.
it is said: “This register will also be used to identify all bird keepers within the disease control area, allowing for more effective monitoring.”
The BBC, the British national broadcaster, warned The Countryfile publication appealed to the public: “Do you have chickens in your backyard? If you don't register now, you're breaking the law… If you don't register your birds, you risk a hefty fine of up to £2,500 or even a short jail term.”
Public reaction to the poultry crackdown has been mixed. The poultry industry is in favor of a national register for backyard egg producers, but some small-scale farmers interviewed by British media decried being placed on the government's list.
Some on social media took a cynical view of the trial, saying that the government could ultimately get a better idea of how many chickens there are in the country than by investigating illegal immigrants in the underground economy. There are some too.
