Alert for Kilkenny bird owners - Avian influenza housing order now in place

A compulsory housing order for poultry and captive birds, to protect them from the risk of avian influenza, has come into effect.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, announced the new rules “to reduce the threat to our industry and to our poultry farmers’ livelihoods.”

The order has been welcomed by the IFA, with IFA Poultry Chair Nigel Sweetnam emphasising the importance of this measure. He said that this Housing Order is a critical step in safeguarding both commercial and backyard poultry flocks from the growing threat of avian influenza.

Under the order all poultry and captive birds must be housed from Monday, February 17. “This will reduce the opportunity for contact with potentially infected wild birds, which is one of the ways in which the virus can spread,” Minister Heydon said.

“Where housing captive birds or poultry is not possible, they must be confined in such a manner that they do not have access to other poultry, other captive birds, or wild birds, for their own benefit.”

The IFA Poultry chair said the minister’s decision to enforce this measure “strengthens our national response to the escalating risk of the disease, which has already led to the suspected infection of 64,000 layer hens in Northern Ireland over the weekend.”

Mr Sweetnam said the affected farm in Tyrone is in an area with a high concentration of poultry farms, including many close to the border, which further underscores the urgency of this action.

Members of the public are advised not to handle sick or dead wild birds and to report any episodes of same to their Regional Veterinary Office or, if outside business hours, to contact the National Disease Emergency Hotline on 01 492 8026.

Further information, including a detailed technical update and alternative measures to take if housing is not available, can be found on gov.ie/birdflu.

Strict new biosecurity regulations for poultry were introduced in Ireland on December 6, 2024, in response to the increased risk posed to Irish poultry flocks by the presence of avian influenza virus in wild birds in Ireland.

Since early December, there have been five detections of avian influenza infection in wild birds in Ireland; one in Co. Galway in early December, one in Co. Dublin in later December, one in Co. Donegal in mid-January, and one each in Co. Westmeath and Co. Wexford in late January.