An avian flu surveillance zone which was erected in Co. Monaghan and a small area of Northern Ireland, is set to be removed tomorrow (Thursday, December 22).
The surveillance zone, along with a protection zone, were put in place following the identification of avian influenza in two turkey flocks near Clones, Co. Monaghan last month.
The 3km protection zone was lifted last week, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has now welcomed the latest development.
“It has been a hugely challenging and worrying time for poultry farmers across the country, but they have reacted superbly to the threat of avian flu.
“Keeping it out of flocks is hugely difficult but the entire industry has worked collaboratively to protect the integrity of the sector. I commend everyone from farmers, to processors, to vets and to my own officials for the massive work they have carried out,” he added.
While both zones have now been lifted, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) confirmed that the precautionary biosecurity and confinement measures introduced under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, to protect the poultry industry, will remain in force.
The department stated that the country remains in “a high-risk period” for the disease, and that this will be the case until “at least the end of April” 2023.
“These [measures] include the requirement to confine all poultry or captive birds such that wild birds and other animals do not have access to them and the application of stringent biosecurity measures for poultry and other captive birds,” it said in a statement.
“Wild bird fatalities continue to be reported with wild birds continuing to test positive for avian flu across the country.
“Stringent biosecurity, including housing or confinement of birds, is vital to mitigate the risk of spread of disease and to protect poultry flocks across the island.
“All keepers of poultry are urged to continue to maintain the highest standards of biosecurity to protect their flocks and to report any suspicion of disease to their local regional veterinary office,” the department concluded.