Compulsory housing order for poultry and captive birds issued to combat bird flu spread

""Due to the increased risk of avian influenza to our poultry, I am taking action to reduce the threat to our industry and to our poultry farmers' livelihoods,""

""Similar to covid, we all stayed at home when covid struck in 2020,""

""A housing order compels free range farmers to keep their birds indoors and to restrict movements onto the site which is very important also, that it keeps unnecessary visits out of farms.""

""Even if you've only one or two birds or a commercial poultry flock, it's changing dedicated footwear, changing clothes before you interact with the birds, feeding them away from wild birds, reducing that interaction between wild birds and kept birds, reducing the number of visitors onto a holding, cleaning and disinfecting vehicles.""

A housing order for poultry will take effect on Monday, November 10 to reduce avian influenza risk and protect poultry farmers' livelihoods. An outbreak of highly contagious avian influenza occurred in a small turkey flock in Co Carlow, prompting a 2km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone around the farm. Several cases have been detected in wild sea birds in coastal areas in recent months, and around 23,000 chickens were culled at a commercial site in Omagh, Co Tyrone after suspected cases. Containment requires housing free-range birds, restricting movements, and implementing strict biosecurity measures including changing footwear and clothing, feeding birds away from wild birds, limiting visitors, and cleaning and disinfecting vehicles.

Read at Irish Independent