Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis must now keep pet chickens indoors as hundreds of the birds are culled a mile from their home in bird flu outbreak

An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 was confirmed at a commercial farm near the Prince and Princess of Wales’s Anmer Hall home in Norfolk. The nearby Sandringham estate chicken houses fall within a 1.8-mile protection zone, meaning the children’s flock must be kept indoors and there are restrictions on bird and egg movements and contact with birds.

All poultry at the affected farm will be humanely culled, and keepers must follow stricter biosecurity measures. A mandatory housing order also requires poultry and captive birds kept in groups of 50 or more to be indoors across England and Scotland; officials say the risk to public health and food safety is very low. Five UK cases have been recorded so far this autumn and eight in the 2026–27 year.