Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 10th January, 2017.

I, MICHAEL CREED, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 36 of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 (No. 15 of 2013), hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Avian Influenza (Precautionary Confinement of Birds) Regulations 2016.

2. In these Regulations:

“poultry” means all birds that are reared or kept in captivity for the production of meat or eggs for consumption, the production of other products, for restocking supplies of game birds or for the purposes of any breeding programme for the production of these categories of birds;

“other captive bird” means any bird other than poultry that is kept in captivity for any reason including those that are kept for shows, races, exhibitions, competitions, breeding or selling;

“secure building” means a building where poultry or other captive birds are confined within that building in such a manner that birds occupying the building cannot come into contact with wild birds or other birds not occupying the building.

3. (1) A person who has poultry or other captive birds in his or her possession or under his or her control shall take all reasonable steps to confine such poultry or captive birds in a secure building in accordance with the biosecurity measures in schedule 1.

(2) Where it is not possible to confine poultry or other captive birds within a secure building, a person in whose possession or under whose control the birds are shall take measures to confine them in such a manner that they do not have access to other poultry or other captive birds or wild birds, in accordance with the bio-security measures in schedule 1.

4. Regulation 3 is a penal provision to which section 36 (4) (b) of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 applies.

Schedule 1

Biosecurity measures

The person who has poultry or other captive birds in his or her possession or under his or her control shall take all necessary steps to ensure that:

i. measures are taken to reduce the movement of people, vehicles or equipment to and from areas where poultry or captive birds are kept to minimise contamination from manure, slurry and other products,

ii. effective vermin control programmes, including preventing the entry of wild and domestic animals such as dogs or cats, around buildings where poultry or captive birds are kept, are implemented,

iii. feed and bedding intended for the poultry or captive birds is stored in such a way that it cannot be accessed by animals or other birds including wild birds,

iv. any person who has had contact with poultry or other captive birds must take all reasonable precautions to avoid the transfer of contamination between premises and secure buildings; this includes cleansing and disinfection of equipment, vehicles and footwear,

v. disinfection points containing a disinfectant that is effective against avian influenza viruses at reconstituted in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines, are kept at all entry and exit points to the premises and the secure buildings or areas where poultry or captive birds are kept,

vi. steps are taken to prevent access to the premises or secure buildings by wild birds by providing feed and water to the poultry or captive birds in such a way that is not accessible to wild birds, preventing overgrowth of vegetation or accumulation of uncovered water on the premises, and by removing any other thing that might attract wild birds from the premises such as fallen fruit or uneaten feed,

vii. housing and equipment is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected using a disinfectant that is effective against avian influenza viruses at the right concentration, at the end of a production cycle,

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

22 December 2017.

MICHAEL CREED,

Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These regulations provide for the housing of poultry and captive birds as a precautionary measure against risk of avian influenza as well as detailing the minimum biosecurity measures to be taken.