It is an extremely difficult and stressful time for poultry farmers due to the ongoing bird flu risk, says Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) poultry chair Nigel Sweetman.

Sweetman commended farmers, industry and the national disease control centre for what he described as their “tremendous efforts” to prevent the spread of avian influenza at a time when it is a “massive threat to the sector”.

He said it is important to continue to maintain the highest levels of biosecurity on poultry farms to prevent further outbreaks.

The IFA poultry chair made his comments after a case of bird flu was confirmed in a second turkey flock in Co Monaghan earlier this week.

Commitment

Sweetman appealed to poultry meat and egg retailers to “act responsibly in their pricing policy” during the current challenging situation for farmers.

“I want to emphasise again that the risk of infections to humans is very low and there is no risk to humans associated with consumption of poultry meat or eggs,” he said.

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