If you keep even one chicken, duck, pigeon, goose or bird of prey in your backyard, a new law in England and Wales means you must register them with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) before 1 October 2024. And if you live in Scotland you have until 1 December 2024 to register your birds, or you’ll be breaking the law.
In the new legislation, which is designed to help keep birds safe by managing and limiting the spread of any potential disease outbreaks, such as avian influenza (bird flu), owners who have less than 49 birds will need to update their bird’s details on the register annually. Registration is free, but failure to register your birds puts you at risk of a hefty fine – as much £2,500 – or even a short jail sentence.
Birds that don’t need to be registered are psittaciformes or passeriformes – budgies, parrots, canaries, cockatiels and finches – as long as they are kept fully housed in a bird house indoors and have no access to the open air. But if you take your birds, of any species, outdoors, for example to be exercised, trained, or taken to gatherings or shows, they must be registered.
Anyone keeping 50 or more gamebirds, chickens or ducks are already required to register with the APHA.
Keeping birds safe
Since 2021, the UK’s largest ever outbreak of bird flu has devastated populations of endangered native species, including barnacle geese and great skuas. Spread by wild birds, even a very small amount of the avian influenza virus can be fatal to birds. The UK’s chief veterinary officer Dr Christine Middlemiss says: “We have seen that backyard flocks of any size are also vulnerable to avian influenza. Since October 2021, there have been 83 confirmed outbreaks amongst backyard poultry or small captive bird flocks across Great Britain. This is around a quarter of all confirmed outbreaks.”
The register will allow APHA to contact bird owners if there’s any kind of disease outbreak locally to give advice on how to protect their flocks.
Once you’ve registered your birds, you’ll need to tell APHA within one month if you no longer keep or own birds; your contact information changes; you change the species of poultry or other birds you keep; you change the purpose for which you keep birds; or youexpand your flock to 50 or more poultry or other captive birds.
Registration is free and takes around 10 minutes; you’ll need to include how many birds you have and their species, what you keep them for, and where your birds are kept.
How to register your birds
Start registration here: https://poultryregistration.defra.gov.uk/?culture=en-GB
If you need help, contact APHA by email at customer.registration@apha.gov.uk or to register your birds over the phone, call 03000 200 301 (lines are open 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday).
Registration in Scotland is through the Scottish Kept Bird Register (SKBR), https://keptbirdregister.service.gov.scot or call 01466 405101.
Looking to buy a coop? Check out our guide to the best chicken coops to buy and for inspiration about which hens will best suit your set up, check out our guide to chicken breeds: 12 of the best for beginner keepers.
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