Fota Island Wildlife Park in Co Cork is closed temporarily because of suspected cases of bird flu.
Unfortunately, it is a place where the disease could easily take hold and spread. The park is home to hundreds of captive exotic birds as well as many thousands of free-flying native species including visiting seabirds.
If tests confirm geese at Fota died as a result of avian flu, it will be the second outbreak in Cork in the space of a month, following another at The Lough wildlife sanctuary in Cork City at the end of September.
Bird flu – highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) – has been a recurring problem in many countries in recent years, with transmission of the virus facilitated by wild bird populations, which have succumbed to the disease in huge numbers.
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Ireland – and particularly the Republic – has dodged a bullet in that mortalities have been considerably less than in other countries.
Also known as avian flu, the highly contagious disease recognises no borders. Its rise may be due to poor infection controls and/or natural fluctuations of influenza globally.
No outbreaks of the HPAI strain were detected in commercial poultry flocks in Ireland last year or so far in 2025, but 41 wild birds tested positive for the disease here.
The National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) warned in July the disease was prevalent, especially in breeding seabirds around Ireland. Following intensive surveillance by NPWS and reports from others, cases were being found in dead wild sea birds washing up on shorelines in counties Kerry, Clare and Galway.
Earlier this month, the chief veterinary officer for Northern Ireland confirmed the strain H5N1 was detected in a commercial poultry premises outside Omagh, Co Tyrone, leading to a cull of 20,000 birds.
[ Fota Wildlife Park in Cork to close temporarily over suspected bird fluOpens in new window ]
There were four outbreaks of bird flu in the North last February – three in commercial poultry farms in Newmills, Pomeroy and Cookstown, and one in a captive bird collection in Magherafelt. It was the first time the disease had been confirmed in a commercial setting since December 2021.
In Europe, increased outbreaks in European birds started earlier than usual, while there was a concerning rise in dairy cattle infections in the US, and occasional human cases with most linked to animal exposure.
How is the disease controlled?
Because housed flocks have large numbers of birds growing in proximity, they pose the biggest risk.
In such cases, biosecurity controls are imposed, including “temporary control zones”. Birds are kept indoors and there are restrictions on entering the location, with wider exclusion zones in surrounding areas. This applies to bigger operators but also people with small “backyard flocks” including free-range egg producers and pet bird keepers.
Avian flu can remain for several weeks in the environment because the faeces of infected birds contain a high level of virus. An area can remain infective whether or not bird carcasses are removed from an area.
What are the impacts of bird flu?
From a financial perspective, the main threat is to commercial poultry rearing and egg production.
There is particular concern for poultry flocks in border counties, including Cavan and Monaghan, where most of the Irish poultry sector is concentrated.
With mandatory culling, the business implications are not just immediate; if laying hens get avian flu, there are no ready replacements.
What is the extent of the threat to humans?
Bird flu spreads rapidly among infected poultry and between mammals. While humans can catch bird flu, it doesn’t spread well person-to-person. Infection is indicated by the usual symptoms associated with a bad flu.
You can get avian flu if you are in close contact with a bird, such as touching infected birds that are dead or alive, or killing or preparing infected poultry for cooking. You can’t get it by eating poultry or eggs that are fully cooked.
A flu can mutate in animals and become more transmissible in humans – and even trigger a pandemic.
How are other countries dealing with outbreaks?
In short, not particularly well. Insufficient or ineffective curtailment measures mean an outbreak can quickly get out of control.
Millions of farmed and captive birds have been culled in recent months in the UK and across Europe. In the United States, avian flu has led to a shortage of eggs, which has also caused a sharp rise in prices.
Since the arrival of bird flu in 2022, which originated in intensively farmed poultry in China, more than 175 million poultry birds in the US have been culled or died as a result of the disease – as of summer 2025.
[ Two endangered red panda cubs born at Cork’s Fota Wildlife ParkOpens in new window ]
