Farmers sleeping ‘with one eye open’ as avian flu spreads

If avian flu hits one farm in an area, all the local farmers will sleep “with one eye open”, according to Co Cavan poultry farmer Kenneth Hall. Based near Bailieborough, Mr Hall said a contaminated swan which prompted an alert last week had been found 20 miles from his farm. “Twenty miles is nothing. You have to be very careful.”

The farmer, who has a flock of 50,000 free range broilers, said that despite the concerns of the poultry sector, there was no reason for consumers to worry.

Andy Boylan, former chair of the IFA’s poultry committee, has 85,000 commercial broilers on his farm near Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan. His family have been in the poultry business for 60 years, and Mr Boylan agreed that the detection of the virus in a dead swan in Co Cavan was worrying. “Avian flu would devastate us. It could put us on the road. It is a serious concern.”

However, he said it was important to emphasise that despite the potential damage to the sector “there is no risk to human health”.

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Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue has introduced regulations requiring flock owners to keep all poultry housed in a secure building from Monday (November 7th).

Mr Boylan said flock owners had been taking “Covid-style” precautionary measures for some time now, restricting access to poultry houses and using hand sanitiser, wearing protective garb and changing footwear before entering houses.

Mr Hall, who has been in the poultry business for 25 years, said it was concerning that cases were being reported so early in the year. “When I started off you would hear about it maybe once every five years – and always after Christmas.”

He said the potential damage to farmers if their flocks were affected was an added headache on top of the extra financial burden sparked by the war in Ukraine. He said fear of avian flu was coming on top of a huge hike in meal, energy and other costs. “It’s like being in a desert. When you cross one hill, all you see is more hills and sand dunes. This is just another annoyance.”

He said farmers who had put up hen houses in the past five or even 10 years were still likely to be making “heavy repayments”, and while they would be compensated for birds lost in the event of a cull they would lose the profit made when they sell the flock on to a processor.

Mr Hall also pointed out that farmers like him who rear free range birds have the added worry that they could lose that status if the housing order extends for several months. “Our whole infrastructure is built around free range so it would have massive implications.”

Yet he said he remained upbeat given the department’s quick response and the vigilance among the poultry farming community.

Mr Boylan, who has four poultry houses, said any farmer affected would have to cull their entire flock. “All you can do is save your neighbour. We have to get a vaccine. They are working on one in France. Hopefully it happens soon.”