Birds in Dublin Zoo may be inoculated against the potentially lethal avian flu, the Minister for Agriculture and Food has said.
Mary Coughlan was speaking yesterday following the imposition of a ban on the importation of birds into the EU.
She said that while the Netherlands had taken more precautionary measures against the arrival of the H5N1 strain of the disease, Ireland would be looking closely at protection systems to be put in place.
The disease, which is being spread from Asia by migratory fowl, had not arrived in Ireland and tests on dead birds had ruled that out. "We are doing all the preparatory work and the Dutch have taken their free-range birds inside," Ms Coughlan said.
"The French have decided to do the same with their free-range birds on the Atlantic coast areas and on the German border. We will await the findings of the experts in Brussels before we consider any more work ourselves."
Since the scare, there had been increased testing for the disease which had "almost reached a frenzy", but Ireland was working closely with its European partners to ensure complete monitoring.
She said a European delegation was travelling to Asia in the next few days with a view to examining the possibility of more support for the people there.
All EU countries had plans to fight a possible bird flu pandemic, EU health officials said yesterday, as tests confirmed the deadly strain of the virus had reached Croatia. World Health Organisation and EU experts have been meeting in Copenhagen.
Leinster MEP Maireád McGuinness said that while there was often a lot of sentiment for the notion of free-range outdoor production, the threat of an outbreak of avian flu might necessitate moving flocks indoors at times of high risk.