The UK’s chief veterinary officer ordered a new avian influenza prevention zone (AIPZ) to cover the whole of England from noon on Saturday 25 January, as the number of number of cases of avian influenza increases.

The move will require poultry keepers to conduct enhanced biosecurity measures to mitigate the risk of further outbreaks of the disease.

A poultry housing order has also been extended in the north of England to now cover York and north Yorkshire, plus a new housing order will come into force in Shropshire on Monday 27 January.

Mandatory housing also applies in any 3km protection zone surrounding an infected premises.

Third Irish case

A case of avian influenza (H5N1) was confirmed on 16 January 2025 in a wild greylag goose found in Co Donegal. This is the third confirmed case of the virus in a wild bird in Ireland since December 2024.

The first case was detected in a buzzard in Co Galway on 5 December 2024 and the second case, also a buzzard, in Co Dublin on 30 December 2024.

Members of the public are advised not to handle sick or dead wild birds of any species. Pet owners are advised to keep dogs on a leash when walking where sick or dead wild birds are, or have been, present.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, on 16 and 17 January 2025, avian influenza virus was reported in a wild goose, a buzzard and a whooper swan, found across three separate counties and submitted for official testing as part of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) avian influenza wild bird surveillance programme.

As a result of those positive cases, the first since September 2023, an AIPZ has been introduced from Saturday 18 January 2025.

While no outbreaks of avian influenza have been detected in poultry in Ireland during 2024 or 2025 to date, the confirmation that this virus is circulating in wild birds means that there is an increased threat to Irish poultry of becoming exposed to, and infected with, this disease.