People are ringing BirdWatch Ireland asking, ‘Is it safe to swim in the sea when dead birds were there?’ or, ‘My dog walked over to the dead birds on the beach. What should I do?’
One Dublin-based Irish Times reader found a dead seagull in his housing estate. Worried about avian flu, he rang the Department of Agriculture to be told “it is everywhere throughout bird populations”, so they are not testing for it any more.He was told his local council was responsible for dealing with it but the Department of Agriculture also gave instructions on how to dispose the carcass.
Veterinary specialists say weather seems to have affected cases while the virus may be becoming more resilient. After Storm Eunice in February, the virus spread rapidly in pockets of the UK. Fewer harsh winters might be a factor in allowing the virus to replicate and survive better. This could be due to global warming.BirdWatch Ireland warned in July: “We are witnessing the potential decimation of seabird populations on a scale that has not been seen before in our lifetimes.
Ireland had six outbreaks in poultry in the Cavan-Monaghan area during November-December last year but was disease-free by end of January 2022. That was down to buy-in from industry on strict biosecurity and compliance on restrictions, Fanning adds. But she cites the biosecurity maxim: “It’s only as good as its weakest link.”“Industry has been great but it’s concerning that so many cases are occurring in the UK so early in the season,” she says.
These birds need to be masked. Simple.