The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, has announced the lifting of the compulsory housing order for and captive birds, which he had introduced in February .
The order was put in place to protect them during the higher risk period for avian influenza. The housing order will be revoked with effect from 10th May 2025.
The Minister said: “The risk of avian influenza to our poultry is no longer as high as it had been in recent months, so it is now appropriate to lift the housing order and prohibition on the assembly of live birds. I want to acknowledge the hard work and cooperation from the Irish poultry industry in recent months, with farmers, vets, processors and others all working together to reduce the chances of an outbreak which could have had such serious consequences. It is important to note that avian influenza is still a risk and will remain a threat to Irish poultry for the foreseeable future.”
The Minister emphasised the importance of biosecurity: “Biosecurity is the single most effective way to prevent the virus spreading from wild birds into poultry, or between poultry flocks, and must be practiced year-round.” The poultry biosecurity regulations introduced on 6th December 2024 (SI 666/2024, the Avian Influenza (Biosecurity measures) Regulations) continue to remain in force.
