Avian Flu 2026: new restricted zones in the EU and what poultry producers must do

Key data

If you produce or trade poultry, eggs, or derived products in the European Union, this regulation can halt your commercial movements overnight. The Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1796 modifies the annex of Decision 2023/2447 and updates the geographic zones where emergency measures against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) apply. The regulation is immediately applicable: it entered into force on July 16, 2026, four days before its publication in the EU Official Journal.

The mechanism is clear: when an HPAI outbreak is detected, the European Commission delimits protection zones and surveillance zones around the outbreak. Within those zones, movements of live birds, eggs, and derived products are subject to strict controls or directly prohibited. This decision updates that map, adding or removing zones according to the evolution of outbreaks in the different Member States.

What does this regulation establish?

Implementing Decision 2026/1796 modifies the annex of the base regulation (Decision 2023/2447), which is the document where all active restricted zones in the EU are listed. Each annex update reflects the real epidemiological situation: new outbreaks generate new zones, and controlled outbreaks may result in the removal of restrictions.

The specific measures applied in zones included in the annex are as follows:

• Protection zones: immediate radius around the outbreak. Maximum restrictions: prohibition of exit of live birds, eggs for consumption, and derived products without express authorization from the competent authority.
• Surveillance zones: broader area surrounding the protection zone. Reinforced biosecurity controls and movement restrictions, although with less intensity than in the protection zone.
• Preventive culling: competent national authorities may order culling of flocks in protection zones as an outbreak control measure.
• Marketing prohibitions: operators located in affected zones cannot market their products without first verifying that their zone of origin is not included in the updated annex.

The regulation requires competent national authorities to implement corresponding controls immediately, without an adaptation period.

Economic and operational impact

The impact for a poultry company located in a zone included in the new annex can be immediate and severe. The prohibition on movements means that batches of birds or eggs already produced cannot leave the farm for normal commercialization, generating direct losses from immobilized product and additional maintenance costs.

The main vectors of economic and operational impact are:

• Sales paralysis: products originating from restricted zones cannot be marketed until the zone is removed from the annex or express authorization is obtained.
• Reinforced biosecurity costs: farms in surveillance zones must implement additional biosecurity measures, with the associated operational cost.
• Risk of preventive culling: in protection zones, the authority may order culling of the entire flock, with consequent asset and production losses.
• Impact on exports: exporters must verify that their zones of origin are not included in the annex before each operation, adding a mandatory verification step in the logistics process.
• Controls at destination: destination countries may reject batches if the health certificate does not correctly reflect the situation of the zone of origin regarding the new annex.

Who does it affect?

• Poultry producers (chicken, turkey, duck, and laying hen farms) located in geographic zones included in the new annex of Decision 2023/2447.
• Live bird trading companies that operate movements between Member States or within the same Member State from affected zones.
• Egg and egg product exporters whose facilities or zones of origin are listed in the updated annex.
• Poultry processing industry (slaughterhouses, cutting rooms, processing plants) that receive raw materials from restricted zones.
• Logistics operators and transporters that manage the movement of birds or poultry products in or from affected zones.
• National veterinary authorities of affected Member States, obliged to implement controls immediately.

Practical example

A laying hen farm located in a region of a Member State that has been included in the new annex as a protection zone faces the following situation from July 16, 2026:

• It cannot remove eggs from the farm for its usual commercial distribution without express authorization from the competent veterinary authority.
• It must immediately strengthen its biosecurity protocols: access control, vehicle disinfection, visit restrictions.
• If the competent national authority detects virus presence on the farm or in its immediate surroundings, it may order preventive culling of the entire flock.
• Its usual exporter cannot include those eggs in an export batch until verifying that the zone has been removed from the annex in a subsequent Decision update.

Conversely, a farm that was included in the previous annex and in this update has been excluded from the new annex can resume its normal commercial movements, provided that the competent national authority has formally lifted the restrictions.

What should companies do now?

1. Verify the geographic zone of the farm: consult the updated annex of Decision 2023/2447 (modified by Decision 2026/1796) to check whether the farm location is included as a protection or surveillance zone.
2. Contact the competent national veterinary authority: if the farm is in an affected zone, immediately communicate with the official veterinary body to receive specific instructions on applicable restrictions and authorization procedures.
3. Review contracts and delivery commitments: identify orders and supply contracts that may be affected by movement restrictions and communicate the situation to customers with as much advance notice as possible.
4. Strengthen biosecurity protocols: implement or intensify biosecurity measures required for surveillance zones (access control, disinfection, personnel and vehicle movement records).
5. Verify origin before each export: exporters must include in their pre-export validation process a consultation of the current annex to confirm that the zone of origin is not restricted at the time of shipment.
6. Monitor annex updates: the Commission periodically updates the annex according to outbreak evolution. Establish an alert system to detect changes affecting your operating zones.

Official source

Consult complete regulation at official source

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/./legal-content/AUTO/?uri=OJ:L_202601796