Fota Wildlife Park to close for two days due to suspected avian flu

The O'Neill family enjoying the wildlife park this year. Fota has reported the potential case to the Department of Agriculture. Picture: Chani Anderson

Fota Wildlife Park is to close temporarily on Tuesday and Wednesday this week after a suspected case of avian flu was detected.

The park has reported the potential case to the Department of Agriculture.

Following a report from Fota Wildlife to the Dept of Agriculture, Food and the Marine regarding suspected cases of avian influenza (bird flu) public access to the Wildlife Park will be suspended on Tue Oct 14th & Wed Oct 15th inclusive
Further updates will be shared in due course pic.twitter.com/6udLztBt2M

— Fota Wildlife Park (@fotawildlife) October 13, 2025

It comes as flock keepers have been urged to implement the “highest standards of biosecurity” after a suspected outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza was detected in a large poultry flock in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

This year, 41 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been detected in wild birds in locations across Ireland, all but one of which were H5N1. A single outbreak of H5N1 occurred in a very small captive bird flock in Co Donegal in July.

It comes less than a month after an outbreak of avian flu was confirmed at The Lough in Cork.

Tests for the disease on a number of birds, which were found dead at The Lough in late September, proved conclusive for the highly pathogenic flu variant.

The World Organisation for Animal Health warned in recent months that bird flu has evolved beyond an animal health crisis into a global emergency, threatening agriculture, food security, trade, and ecosystems.

In July, dead wild seabirds washed up on shorelines in Kerry, Clare and Galway, with some testing positive for the contagious virus.

As a result, agriculture minister Martin Heydon said all poultry flock owners in these coastal areas, whether they have commercial farms or a few backyard hens, should implement stringent biosecurity measures to mitigate the risk of the disease spreading to their flocks.

Members of the public are advised not to handle sick or dead wild birds and to report any episodes of sick or dead wild birds to their regional veterinary office or, if outside business hours, to contact the National Disease Emergency Hotline on 01-4928026.