RESTRICTIONS in place around a farm near Banbury where 25,000 chickens were slaughtered following an outbreak of bird flu have been downgraded.
The outbreak at Eastwood Farm, between Shenington and Shutford, was revealed on Tuesday night and laboratory results from dead birds have confirmed the outbreak of the highly contagious H7 strain of bird flu.
Officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) set up a 10km surveillance zone around the farm banning all bird movement to prevent the spread of the disease.
advertisement Defra vets are visiting all farms and small holdings within 3km to test animals.
Today the Chief Veterinary Officer confirmed the temporary control zone, set up on Tuesday, has been revoked and replaced with protection and surveillance zones.
The 3km inner zone is now a protection zone and the 10km outer zone is now a surveillance zone.
The Health Protection Agency said the risk to public health remained low and the Food Standards Agency said there was no safety implications for the human food chain.
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