A well known seller near me has also downplayed this as alarmist, maybe she is worried about her Christmas sales going down but its very irresponsible.
Yes, I know who you mean, I'm disgusted at their attitude, they should be making every attempt to publicise the prevention order and helping their customers to comply. So far they haven't even updated their website to bring the situation to peoples attention. Nor does their twitter account mention anything about it, despite them having tweeted about their services since the notification. Makes me wonder if they are doing anything themselves to comply, or if they're carrying on as usual. Their dozens of WIRs aren't exactly wild bird proof.
Sadly people are listening to their friends on social media rather than going to the official website location and reading the guidance for themselves.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influenza-bird-fluThe ignorance of some people (re what John said above, eg "'we don't have wild birds, just the blackbirds who visit' ) is staggering and IMO calls into question their suitability for owning pets or livestock. If such ignorant statements are not challenged then they'll only increase.
Personally I feel that DEFRA haven't exactly helped. If it hadn't been for the newsletter from John & Cara and one neighbour mentioning it to me, I wouldn't have known. DEFRA should be taking out full page ads in all newspapers as well as making official statements on all radio stations and TV channels at peek times. They should also (sadly) be making allowances for people who don't know what, for example 'wild birds' means and actually explain such terms.
Thinking about the future, such situations can only increase in frequency. I feel the government should act now and insist that all kept birds should be registered. That way notices can be sent out directly to everyone affected, and it will also help with accountability, legal responsibility, and random checks to ensure people are complying with the regulations.
Ali.