Confirmation of avian influenza in poultry flocks in Carlow, Fermanagh and Tyrone reminds us again of how vulnerable individual farms and the wider agricultural industry is to disease.

Protection and surveillance zones are now in place up to 10km around each farm, but inside those zones, the farms affected are facing their worst nightmare.

Their flocks have been humanely destroyed and they will suffer the emotional toll and financial impact for months to come. Compensation payments cover only a fraction of the total impact of this disease on a poultry enterprise.

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With the Christmas trade for turkeys and other poultry just around the corner, this is an exceptionally high-risk and worrying time for those producers.

Agriculture ministers north and south have sensibly announced housing orders to protect commercial flocks and their livelihoods.