Following a meeting on avian influenza on Tuesday, the Department of Agriculture has said that housing birds is not necessary at this stage.

However, it will continue to monitor the situation very closely and will keep the issue under review.

In a note circulated among meeting attendees, the senior superintending veterinary inspector Sally Gaynor said she has “clarified with marketing colleagues that voluntary housing is not permitted in the case of avian influenza”.

IFA national poultry chair Nigel Reneghan told the Irish Farmers Journal last week that there should not be an issue with labelling of free-range or organic poultry products if they are housed for disease-control reasons.

DEFRA, the UK ministry for agriculture, has told poultry farmers to keep all birds housed indoors for 30 days as a precautionary measure.