Irish bird owners register as flu fears mount

Over 5,600 bird owners have registered under the Department of Agriculture's registration scheme to combat the threat of bird flu.

Five new cases of the human strain of the deadly virus have been found in Turkey in recent days.

Bird flu has already killed more than 70 people in Asia and Europe, and millions of birds have been destroyed since the first case in 2003.

Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan introduced regulations in early November to identify and register every bird in Ireland. Since then, over 5,600 individual flock owners have registered with local Department offices.

"We are happy with the response so far, but we encourage all flock-owners to come forward," a Department spokesman said.

"If there is an outbreak, we need to know the location of every bird in the country so we can isolate all fowl in the affected area and carry out culls if necessary."

Unregistered Irish flock owners can still contact 27 local Agriculture Department offices across the country. The registration covers all poultry, including small flocks of birds kept at private homes, and game birds such as pheasants.

There is also a ban on the collection of poultry and captive birds for poultry markets, shows, exhibitions and cultural events.

The EU already bans imports of live birds and poultry products, including feathers, from Turkey. It has also announced a ban on feather imports from six of Turkey's neighbours: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq and Syria.

PA