To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to inform poultry owners on the Avian Influenza outbreak.

My Department works closely with a wide range of industry representatives on the measures needed to prevent the spread of Avian Influenza into and within Northern Ireland, both prior to its recent incursion and as the situation developed.

The recent outbreaks of the disease in poultry were the first in Northern Ireland since 1998, and are the first ever involving a highly pathogenic strain of the virus.

During the outbreak my officials facilitated weekly stakeholder meetings which provided regular updates on the Department’s actions and sought feedback on our approach as the situation developed.

During December my Department organised two ‘Protect Your Flock’ webinars. These were held in close collaboration with our local poultry industry stakeholders. The first webinar was aimed at the backyard and hobby flock keeper with the second targeted at the commercial keeper. The webinars focused on the symptoms of Avian Influenza and the measures flock keepers could take to protect their birds.

A biosecurity checklist has also been developed to aid flock keepers in the review of their biosecurity arrangements. This is available on the DAERA website and has been shared widely with stakeholders.

The DAERA website and social media sites are continually being updated to reflect the most current situation. . Using these channels we widely publicised media messages from both the Chief Veterinary Officer and myself, urging industry to take all possible biosecurity measures to protect their flocks. Veterinary officials also participated in a range of television and radio interviews emphasising the key messages to prevent the spread of Avian Influenza.

In addition, my Department delivers a text alert service for all bird keepers to receive immediate notifications of disease outbreaks or other important disease information. This enables bird keepers to take action to protect their flock at the earliest opportunity. Officials have recently been working closely with the Northern Ireland Feed Industry in the design and use of a label on poultry feed bags raising awareness of maintaining excellent biosecurity in keeping birds safe.

As such, my Department continues to deliver a sustained campaign across all available communication channels, in collaboration with industry, to inform and educate poultry owners and bird keepers on the most recent outbreaks in Northern Ireland.