Netherlands culls over 45,000 poultry as bird flu hits two farms

The return of bird flu to Dutch farms after a months-long gap matters because the Netherlands is a major European poultry exporter, so culling and potential confinement measures can ripple through regional supply and trade flows. The ministry's mention of reinstating confinement signals that containment policy, not just the outbreaks themselves, is the variable to watch. Whether the virus spreads beyond these two farms, and whether confinement returns, is the open question for the wider protein and agri markets.