Hens housed inside during an avian influenza outbreak will not lose their free-range status on their egg labels, the Welsh government has announced.
Changes to Wales's egg marketing regulations have been made following lobbying by numerous industry groups, including NFU Cymru.
When implemented, it will mean that hens can still be housed whilst a housing order remains in place during a bird flu outbreak and not lose their free-range status.
Figures show that well over 90 percent of Welsh eggs are from free-range flocks.
When enacted, the change will mean that Wales will come in line on egg labelling with the rest of the UK and the European Union.
Chairman of the NFU Cymru Poultry Board, Richard Williams welcomed the change, as the union 'lobbied hard on this matter for a number of reasons'.
“From the disease control point of view, it makes sense for birds to be housed over high-risk periods and not to have an arbitrary 16 week cut off," he said.
"To have different rules to England on free range egg labelling would be a logistical nightmare for packers, as there is a huge movement of eggs both ways over the Welsh border."
Currently, in Wales, when mandatory housing measures are introduced to protect birds from the spread of disease, eggs from free range birds can only continue to be labelled as ‘free range’ for 16 weeks after the housing order has come into effect.
After that period, these eggs must then be labelled as barn eggs. This rule is part of the existing ‘derogation’ period under the Egg Marketing Standards Regulations.
However, in both 2021-22 and 2022-3, the 16-week derogation period was exceeded by six and seven weeks respectively, which led to huge costs for the industry as egg packaging had to be changed to comply with legislation.
Earlier this year, the UK self-declared freedom from avian influenza, which came into effect from 29 March 2024.
There are currently no outbreaks in poultry or other captive birds, but the virus continues to be found in wild birds in Britain and across Europe.
Defra said keepers should remain vigilant and practice stringent biosecurity to protect the health and welfare of their birds.
