MEASURES TO KEEP all poultry and captive birds indoors to prevent the spread of bird flu have come into force.

The order was announced last week in response to a rise in the number of bird flu cases in wild birds and aims to are aimed at prevent house birds from interacting with wild birds.

Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue described the order as “a precautionary measure”.

Issuing the order last week, the Department of Agriculture said: “This measure is being taken against a background of the confirmation of disease in wild birds along the coast since July, increasing risk levels due to colder temperatures and shorter daylight hours as well as recent confirmation of disease in a wild bird inland.”

It noted that outbreaks of bird flu have been reported in captive bird flocks in coastal areas of counties Dublin and Wicklow, where it had been confirmed previously in wild birds.

A legal requirement to keep poultry confined or indoors was previously in place in Ireland from November 2021 to April of this year. 

The Department added: “Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza have also been identified in poultry flocks in Great Britain and a number of other European countries in recent weeks.”

In the UK, the disease was confirmed at over 90 premises and has been found in more than 200 dead wild birds since the start of October.

As a result, a similar order is also coming into effect in the UK today.

“Whether you keep just a few birds or thousands, from today onwards they must be housed under cover to protect them from this highly infectious disease,” said the UK’s chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss.

With additional reporting from Press Association