The Ministry of Agriculture of the Netherlands issued a national directive on October 16 requiring poultry farms to immediately implement indoor closed breeding of poultry and prohibit the holding of bird exhibitions.

According to Reuters, a bird flu outbreak occurred earlier in the Netherlands' northern province of Drenthe. This is the first bird flu outbreak in the country since March this year, resulting in approximately 71,000 chickens being killed last week.

The All-Dutch News Agency reported that the above-mentioned "closed chicken order" applies to both commercial farms and amateur chicken farmers. The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture said that this is "a severe measure" for both enterprises and amateurs. In view of the "extreme unpredictability" of avian influenza, this move aims to minimize the risk of avian influenza. The agency will continue to closely monitor the outbreak.

Europe is currently experiencing a seasonal high incidence of avian influenza, and the risk of the epidemic cannot be ignored.

In recent years, the highly pathogenic avian influenza has killed or killed hundreds of millions of poultry around the world, the vast majority of which are chickens.