A new law forcing the British owners of one or more chickens (and pigeons and birds of prey) to register each bird individually has met with resistance.
Not everyone thinks the government should be counting their chickens (even after they’ve hatched). It was reported on X, formerly Twitter, that enough scamps have successfully registered their store-bought roast chickens to crash the government website.
While the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) enjoys some support for its anti-bird flu measures, poultry owners are concerned about the excessive bureaucracy the new system now involves (and no doubt also concerned about the threat of fines and even imprisonment for non-compliance).
From October 1st, 2024 in England and Wales, all outdoor bird keepers face mandatory registration, and will be compelled for life to update their records every 12 months. (In Scotland, the same rules came in on September 1st, 2024.)
Not wanting to be seen as chickening out, Westminster gossip website Guido Fawkes secured a place for its chicken-suited reporter Guido Squawks on the database.
No word yet on whether owning a single chicken nugget is sufficient to secure official certification.
