A sharp rise in fatal bird flu infections across Europe has led several countries to shelter millions of poultry indoors in an effort to protect them from infected wild birds, with Ireland as the latest to implement such measures.
The highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, continues to threaten the poultry industry and regulators alike—having claimed hundreds of millions of birds globally in recent years, reached dairy herds in the United States, caused supply disruptions, and contributed to food price inflation. The virus also carries the ongoing risk of crossing over to humans.
On Wednesday, Ireland introduced a nationwide poultry housing directive after confirming its first bird flu outbreak since 2022. This action follows an earlier-than-usual wave of infections and changes in the typical pattern and location of outbreaks within the country. The Irish Farmers’ Association has raised concerns about these shifts, highlighting the increasing difficulty of managing the disease.
France, Britain, Netherlands and Belgium had recently imposed these measures to prevent significant loss. To date, 15 out of 27 European Union member states have detected bird flu cases on farms this season. Traditionally, outbreaks surge in autumn when migratory birds arrive, but this year’s tally—688 outbreaks compared to 189 last year—has far exceeded expectations, intensifying worries for commercial producers.
Germany is currently the hardest-hit EU country, recording 58 outbreaks on farms from August through the end of October, as reported by France’s animal health surveillance network. The country had seen just eight cases a year earlier.
As reported by German media, approximately one million birds have been culled due to infection, and while there is no federal housing mandate, several individual states have adopted such restrictions.
Poland, Europe’s top poultry producer, ranks second with 15 outbreaks yet has refrained from imposing a comprehensive indoor requirement for its flocks.
