Ireland to lift poultry housing confinement order

Legislation was introduced on 7 November 2022
calendar icon 14 April 2023
clock icon 1 minute read

The Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine has announced that the legal requirement to confine/house poultry and other birds as a precautionary measure against avian influenza will be lifted from 18 April 2023. 

Legislation requiring the precautionary confinement of birds in Ireland to mitigate the risk of spread of avian influenza to poultry was introduced on 7 November 2022. The decision to now withdraw this requirement is based on a number of parameters that indicate a reduced risk of an avian influenza incursion - including the fact that no case of bird flu has been confirmed in wild birds for a period of 5 weeks, reduced numbers of migratory waterfowl and increasing environmental temperatures and daylight hours.

Removing the requirement to confine birds means that all poultry and bird owners may allow their birds access to open areas and runs from 18 April. The department, however, is urging flock owners to remain vigilant as, notwithstanding the reduced risk, there is still the possibility of the virus being present in the environment or being transmitted to their flock by wild birds.

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