The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has said that he is confident the supply of turkeys for Christmas will not be impacted by avian influenza (bird flu).
The comments come as the H5N1 strain of the disease was confirmed in a turkey flock in Co. Monaghan yesterday (Sunday, November 13).
The 3,800 birds on the farm located in Clones, close to the border with Co. Fermanagh, will be culled.
Restriction zones have also been put in place in a bid to prevent further spread of the disease.
Speaking to Agriland, Minister Charlie McConalogue said that the outbreak is “very concerning” and would have a “real impact” for the commercial poultry farm involved, along with other farmers in the area.
Two weeks ago, the minister put in place a housing order for all poultry flocks across the country due to an increased risk of spread of the disease from the wild bird population into commercial flocks.
“This is an example of what can happen and the reason why those measures are in place and the reason why everyone needs to be on top alert in the time ahead to prevent further cases,” he said.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) operates a financial compensation scheme for farmers impacted by an outbreak of bird flu.
The minister said that the payment, which is “representative of the value of the birds”, is important to support impacted farmers to “get back into business again”.
Bird flu
When asked about how confident he is on containing the current outbreak in Co. Monaghan, the minister said:
“There’s a risk all of the time in all parts of the country because of the fact that it is in the wild bird population and migrating birds in particular.
“So there’s no guarantee that we won’t see a further outbreak, but by putting in place and taking every biosecurity precaution that we can it gives us the best chance of minimising and hopefully avoiding further incidences.
“We did see a number of cases last winter across the country. We want to try and ensure that we absolutely in every way minimise and prevent cases from happening this year.
“But it is something that everyone, and in particular poultry farmers, will be very alert to in the weeks ahead.
“This is a really infectious strain of avian influenza but poultry farmers across the country are very aware of that and they are very alert to how high the stakes are.
“I think every step is being taken but it is important that continues because this is going to be a daily challenge now in terms of ensuring that the risk of infection is minimised,” he said.
Christmas turkey
Minister McConalogue moved to reassure consumers that the supply of turkeys for Christmas would not be impacted by this current outbreak.
“This is very small in the context of the national supply so there’s no concern in that regard. With the precautions that are in place I’m very confident that we won’t have any issue around supply for Christmas.
“By farmers now taking every step that is being advised to them, I’m confident that we will minimise the impact of bird flu and ensure that the supply of turkeys, chicken and all poultry products will be minimised,” he said.
Although the H5N1 subtype can cause serious disease in poultry and other birds, the risk to humans is considered to be very low.
“There isn’t any risk to human health here. Obviously, the standard advice always applies here in relation to properly cooking poultry products,” the minister added.