Poultry farmer's fears heighten after Fota outbreak of bird flu
IFA poultry chair and poultry farmer Nigel Sweetnam, at his farm in Knockduff, Kinsale, Co Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan
Following the recent outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu in Fota Wildlife Park, talks of localised lockdowns to safeguard Irish flocks have been proposed.
Irish Farmers’ Association poultry chair Nigel Sweetnam said talks with the Department of Agriculture regarding options to protect flocks from the H5N1 bird influenza, with suggestions of localised lockdowns being proposed, and what that might look like for poultry farmers and individuals with backyard flocks.
In a statement published on Wednesday Fota Wildlife Park has confirmed it will remain closed for the next number of weeks following further positive cases of bird flu within their bird populations.
There have now been 11 confirmed H5N1 bird flu cases identified among its Greylag goose population, with the infection said to be originating from wild birds in the Cork Harbour area.
The park has reaffirmed it is working closely with the department and has a mitigation strategy in place, isolating the bird species in the park’s care and the construction of temporary aviaries to house birds over the winter months.
The park also announced it made the difficult decision to humanely euthanise affected birds as a last-resort measure to prevent wider transmission within the park.
Mr Sweetnam said poultry farmers were worried the disease would not be eradicated from the area any time soon, with the park's proximity to the mud flats and feeding grounds for wild birds and general wildlife traffic in and out of the park.
“We'd have a huge concern about the traffic of wildlife in and out of Fota Park. One of the things we've looked for is that the enclosure should be netted, preferably to prevent wild birds from leaving or entering the park.
"The other big worry is its proximity to the mud flats and feeding grounds all around. The big worry here is that the disease isn't going to go away in the park,” Mr Sweetnam told the .
Mr Sweetnam explained a major danger with the outbreak was that this newer strain of the virus, with current weather conditions, could survive in bird faeces for about 13 days.
With Fota and areas like The Lough, located in Cork City, which also had confirmed bird flu cases in an area that hosts the general public, where the disease can be picked up and inadvertently spread further, it poses a considerable threat to Irish flocks, warns the IFA poultry chair.
Discussing how, in the last five years, with new strains every year, the virus has become more and more of a problem.
“It started with gulls and then went into gannets. But this year, it's very prevalent in game birds, pheasants, and ducks, which are particularly susceptible because it's [the virus] continually mutating, and the strains that are there at the moment are very virulent. Our best tool in the toolbox has been lockdown orders,” said Mr Sweetnam.
Mr Sweetnam said owners of backyard flocks should be wary of wild birds and they should feed their flocks indoors to discourage wild birds from flocking and landing in their gardens or areas where their own birds roam.
“It's probably a bigger issue for free range than for commercial, indoor farmers, but the main take-home message is for the backyard flock, not to feed them outdoors. Keep them away from and don't entice wild birds into the mix with their backyard flocks, because 90% of content of infection is caused by direct contact with wild birds.
So if you do anything that you can that limits the contact that your birds have with wild birds, it is a major advantage in keeping bird flu out.”
