A leading west Wales poultry business which has been directly affected by avian flu is calling on the Welsh Government to rethink its decision to not introduce a compulsory housing order in Wales.

The government has so far resisted pressure to make the housing of all poultry and captive birds compulsory despite growing numbers of avian flu cases across Wales.

It has been a changing situation weekly, with the latest infections discovered at a premises in Buckley, Flintshire, on November 7.

Prior to that, cases were detected in Pembrokeshire and Gwynedd in September and on Anglesey in October.

One of those was at Capestone Organic Poultry in Walwyn's Castle, near Haverfordwest.

Its managing director Rob Cumine now wants the Welsh Government to adopt a similar approach to England where mandatory housing measures for all poultry and captive birds came into force on November 7 in an effort to protect flocks from catching the highly pathogenic virus from wild birds.

Mr Cumine said housing orders were very effective at controlling the disease in domestic poultry and wild birds.

“We’ve seen some announcements in England, a shift in support and understanding of the impact so I’m hoping we’ll see more in Wales,’’ he said.

He pointed out that a wild bird doesn’t respect borders as it flies between flocks.

But the Welsh Government said it would not be following England’s lead – for now at least.

In a statement to the Senedd, Minister for Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths, rejected calls for mandatory housing measures in Wales, pointing to the “different scale and nature of AI across different parts of the UK”.

“Fortunately, in Wales, we’ve not seen anything like the number of outbreaks in England which will be required to justify any such housing order,’’ said Mrs Griffiths.

The situation is being reviewed daily and the government stands ready “to do what is necessary to protect our birds and the livelihoods and wellbeing of those who can care for them,’’ the minister added.

Her decision on whether or not to mandate the housing of birds would be based on scientific and veterinary advice, she said, and would balance potential protective effects against the potential harms of housing birds.

Shadow rural affairs minister Samuel Kurtz wants biosecurity measures to be brought in line with those adopted in England.

“Our failure to do so risks greater transmissibility between wild and commercial populations and will also have much wider ramifications for the industry as a whole,’’ he said.

NFU Cymru is holding an advice-led conference later this month to help keepers faced with what some have described as poultry’s equivalent of foot and mouth.

The threat of avian influenza and the risk it poses to poultry businesses in Wales would not be going away “any time soon’’, said the union’s poultry chairman Richard Williams.

And it is not the only issue poultry producers are wrangling with, he added.

“Rising energy costs and hikes in the prices of inputs are also taking a significant toll on our farmers, whether they be producing poultry meat or eggs,’’ said Mr Williams.