A second outbreak of bird flu has been discovered on a turkey farm in County Meath. It follows confirmation of the disease in a flock in County Carlow on Monday.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, has announced a mandatory housing order for all poultry and captive birds, which will take effect on Monday 10 November.
A housing order has been applied in Northern Ireland, Wales and England from today following outbreaks there.
Housing orders require birds to be kept indoors.
Restriction zones have been established around the affected holding in County Meath. The government said this involved a 3 km “protection zone” and a 10 km surveillance zone in line with national and EU legislation.
Avian influenza strain H5N1 has been confirmed.
The disease is highly contagious amongst all types of birds. The current risk to human health is low according to experts.
There have been numerous cases confirmed at poultry farms in the UK, Germany and Bulgaria in recent weeks. Wild birds suspected of carrying bird flu have been seen in Belgium, France and Spain.
It signifies the Europe-wide extent of the virus once again this winter.
Back in September, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Commission had urged farmers to safeguard poultry, other animals and people from avian influenza by taking extra precautions.
That does not seemed to have worked.
Minister Heydon said:
“This second outbreak underlines the ongoing presence of avian influenza in wild birds across the country.
The introduction of the housing order will further strengthen our national protection measures to help mitigate the ongoing risk.
I want to thank poultry keepers for their continued cooperation and strong commitment to maintaining the highest standards of biosecurity during this high-risk period.
Working together and following strict biosecurity procedures is the strongest defence to reduce the risk and safeguard our poultry sector.”
The Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine said it was continuing to closely monitor developments and promised to “take all necessary measures to mitigate the risk of avian influenza.”