Captive birds and poultry are being locked indoors from today as keepers and veterinary officials attempt to protect flocks, including Christmas turkeys, from the worst ever outbreak of avian flu.

The disease has been detected at more than 70 premises since the start of October, says the government, which has resulted in thousands of animals having to be culled, while it is feared birds which have migrated to the UK for the winter are also now rapidly spreading cases of avian flu.

With the national risk of influenza in wild birds now raised to very high - and fears the virus risks getting among Christmas turkey stocks - the government has ordered that all captive birds must be brought inside for their own safety.

The strict new rules apply to all keepers regardless of whether they have just a few birds or they keep thousands of animals.

The UK's chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said: "We are now facing this year, the largest ever outbreak of bird flu and are seeing rapid escalation in the number of cases on commercial farms and in backyard birds across England. The risk of kept birds being exposed to disease has reached a point where it is now necessary for all birds to be housed until further notice.

"Scrupulous biosecurity and separating flocks in all ways, from wild birds remain the best form of defence. Whether you keep just a few birds or thousands, from Monday November 7 onwards you must keep your indoors. This decision has not been taken lightly, but is the best way to protect your birds from this highly infectious disease."

The tough new rules, which are already in place in Suffolk, Norfolk and parts of Essex, now apply to the whole of England.

Evidence shows, says the government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, that housing birds inside reduces the risk of kept animals being infected with bird flu.

However, keeping them indoors alone will not protect flocks and so keepers must continue, says DEFRA, to still follow other enhanced biosecurity measures that includes stringent cleaning, changing clothing and footwear when entering enclosures, disinfecting vehicles and restricting access to flocks to only essential people or workers.

Over the last year, the United Kingdom has been left grappling with its largest ever outbreak of avian influenza. There have been 200 confirmed cases since late October 2021, but figures will be considerably higher because of the numbers that can't be accounted for in wild bird populations.

While the public health risk is deemed to be very low, there are fears that if bird flu were to reach turkey stocks ahead of Christmas, numbers could be decimated before the festive season - a scenario that the National Farmers' Union has described as 'holy carnage'.

In an interview last month chairman of the NFU Poultry Board James Mottershead explained: "It is a risk.

He added: "If bird flu, for example, gets into turkeys that could cause holy carnage; that could cause real supply chain issues in the run-up to Christmas time. The realities of it are quite severe."

Speaking in the House of Lords this week, DEFRA minister Lord Benyon said he could not guarantee that turkey stocks wouldn't be affected if rising cases could not be stopped.

He explained: "We are seeing increasing number of turkeys falling prey to this disease, but at the moment, the situation for Christmas turkeys is there or thereabouts OK.

"But I wouldn't like to predict, if it carried on at the current rate, there wouldn't be some impact."

Dog walkers have also been urged to keep their pets on leads and stick to footpaths where there are large numbers of wild birds, particularly in coastal areas, after bird flu was detected this summer in both seals and foxes.

A spokesman for the RSPCA warned in July: "Avian influenza (AI) is primarily a disease of birds, though there have been reports of highly pathogenic AI in seals and foxes, so bird flu can cross into other species.

"As some dogs may be attracted to - and pick up - dead or dying birds, the RSPCA always recommends keeping dogs under control around wildlife. Although the risk of your dog contracting AI is extremely low, your dog could become contaminated and spread it to other areas. Also dead and dying birds could carry a range of other diseases which might present a health risk to your dog."