Aughnacloy: 27,000 ducks to be culled over suspected bird flu

Twenty-seven thousand ducks are being culled after a suspected case of bird flu was reported in a commercial flock in County Tyrone.

A temporary control zone has also been put in place at the Aughnacloy site.

Cases have already been confirmed in commercial flocks over the Irish border in County Monaghan and in wild birds in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland's chief vet Dr Robert Huey said the Tyrone site was a "very significant part of the industry".

He said the suspected case of bird flu was a "very worrying development" that would result in the culling of the "entire breeding stock" of a major poultry operator.

If the case is confirmed, the temporary control zone at Aughnacloy will be replaced by a 3km (1.9 miles) protection zone and a 10km (6.2 miles) surveillance zone.

Speaking to BBC News NI, Dr Huey said: "Although this is a commercial flock and there will be compensation for the birds that we cull, these are parent stock, which means they are of high genetic merit.

"We're taking out probably the entire breeding stock so that will take some time to recover and there won't be compensation for that."

He said the culling would take an emotional and financial toll on those who work on and run the farm.

Officials were first notified after the operator noticed a significant reduction in the number of eggs produced by the ducks.

Provisional test results on Wednesday were positive for bird flu.

The control zone was put in place on Thursday morning.

Dr Huey said: "There is a significant financial cost as well as the emotional response that any of these actions have to a farming family.

"Although this is a business they're still farmers dealing with these birds day to day - particularly with these birds, some of them are 70 weeks old, there is an attachment."

Dr Huey said: "Given this suspected incursion of notifiable avian influenza, we cannot afford to be complacent.

"I am speaking to those who have half a dozen birds in the garden, right up to those commercial flock keepers with thousands of birds - act now.

"You must adhere to all biosecurity measures to protect your flock.

"I am extremely concerned about the serious risk of spread and this is a very worrying development."

A housing order is already in force for captive birds and poultry flocks, after the presence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 was detected in wild birds in Northern Ireland last week.

Restrictions to keep flocks separate from wild birds were already in place.

It is understood that more than 100,000 birds have been culled in Great Britain in the past five weeks after bird flu outbreaks at commercial premises and bird rescue centres there.

The Republic of Ireland has reported three outbreaks at commercial premises, all in County Monaghan.