Minister ‘very confident’ there will be turkeys for Christmas despite second avian flu outbreak

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue is “very confident” that there will not be a shortage of turkeys for Christmas dinners despite the confirmation of avian flu in a second flock in Co Monaghan.

Mr McConalogue said the two farms affected each had around 4,000 turkeys when “some two million families have Christmas dinner around the country”. He said the total was “pretty small in the context of our national volume”.

He added that “certainly with the measures that we have in place, I’m very confident that there won’t be any supply issue”.

The Department of Agriculture on Tuesday confirmed the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 had been detected in samples from a second turkey flock in Co Monaghan. It said a “slight extension” to existing restriction zones was being put in place in response. A first outbreak was detected last month, raising concerns about Christmas turkey supplies if further flocks were affected.

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But the Minister told Fine Gael Senator Tim Lombard that there were six cases of avian flu in commercial flocks over the course of last year.

“There was also six cases in Northern Ireland last year as well. So it’s certainly possible that we could see more cases; it’s highly infectious,” he said. “And that’s why we’ve put the most secure possible measures in place and advice to farmers in relation to how to keep their flock safe.”

Turkey market

Raising the issue in the Seanad, Mr Lombard expressed concern about how severe the latest outbreak was and the potential impact on the Christmas turkey market.

He also asked about compensation for farmers and said many people might have four or five turkeys in their back gardens.

“Are we putting a restriction on them? Are they all know to be locked up as well?” he asked.

The Minister told him that poultry and other birds should be kept “in a secure building to which wild birds or other animals do not have access”.

He said the Health Protection Surveillance Center had confirmed that while H5N1 and one subtype “can cause serious disease in poultry and other birds” but that the risk to humans was very low.

“It is important to note that there is no evidence of risk associated with consumption of poultry meat, poultry, products or eggs,” he said, adding that properly cooked poultry products “are safe to eat”.

Enormous strain

Mr McConalogue said that while the numbers affected to date were small it was “obviously significant” for the two affected farms. He said that while there is compensation available “that doesn’t take away the enormous strain and stress and loss”.

The Minister said that to protect flocks “we’ve put the most secure possible measures in place” and provided advice to farmers on how to keep their flocks safe.

He warned, however, that the risk remains of further cases “so it’s crucial that over the next period of time everyone takes every possible step” to prevent outbreaks.

He said by working together “we will ensure that that that there isn’t a wider issue for the sector” and that there is no impact “in terms of turkeys for Christmas”.