15 dead swans as bird flu confirmed in East Cork

Authorities accused of debating responsibility for their removal

Kieran O'Sullivan at Loughaderra lake,  Castlemartyr, East Cork, with the carcasses of dead swans. Picture: Larry Cummins

Bird flu has been confirmed at a lake in East Cork but 15 dead swans were left there decomposing for days “while authorities debated responsibility for their removal". 

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said on Friday that a case of HPAI avian influenza (H5N1) was confirmed on March 11 from a dead bird found in Co Cork by the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory.