Fota Wildlife Park Closes its gates

Cork, October 14: Fota Wildlife Park has announced a temporary closure on Tuesday and Wednesday following the detection of a suspected case of avian influenza.

According to park authorities, the suspected case has been reported to the Department of Agriculture, which is currently investigating. The development comes as poultry and bird owners across Ireland are being urged to maintain the “highest standards of biosecurity” after a suspected outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza was identified in a large poultry flock in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

So far this year, 41 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been confirmed among wild birds across Ireland — all but one identified as the H5N1 strain. A previous outbreak occurred in County Donegal in July within a small captive bird population.

The latest incident follows less than a month after a confirmed outbreak of avian flu at The Lough in Cork, where tests on several birds found dead in late September returned positive for the highly pathogenic variant.

Globally, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has cautioned that bird flu has escalated from a regional animal health issue to a global emergency, posing significant threats to agriculture, food security, trade, and ecological stability.

Earlier this year, numerous dead seabirds washed ashore along the coasts of Kerry, Clare, and Galway, with several testing positive for the H5N1 strain.

In response, Minister of State for Agriculture Martin Heydon has urged all poultry flock owners—whether operating large commercial farms or keeping small backyard flocks—to adopt strict biosecurity measures to prevent the virus from spreading.

Authorities have also issued a public advisory, urging people not to handle sick or dead wild birds. Any sightings or incidents involving such birds should be reported to the nearest Regional Veterinary Office, or outside office hours, to the National Disease Emergency Hotline at 01-4928026.