Poultry housing order to be lifted in Northern Ireland

Free-range poultry producers in Northern Ireland will be able to let their birds out on the range from next Tuesday (5 May), when the mandatory housing order is officially lifted.

Producers in the province were told to keep their birds indoors last November in response to the appearance of two suspected cases.

Since then there have been five confirmed cases of the H5N1 highly pathogenic strain of the disease in Northern Ireland – most recently on a commercial premises near Omagh, County Tyrone on 11 March.

See also: One farm’s robust plans to combat the threat of bird flu

Overall, the UK has recorded 100 cases of avian influenza since 1 October 2025, the last of which occurred in a flock of breeding ducks in Lincolnshire on 17 April.

The decision to end the housing order in Northern Ireland will come as a relief to poultry farmers, given that birds have been allowed outside in England and Wales since 9 April.

Northern Ireland agriculture minister Andrew Muir said: “The last confirmed case in poultry or captive birds here was in March 2026 and I want to thank the engagement and co-operation from those poultry farmers who have suffered an incursion of disease over the past year.

“With the relaxation of housing requirements, my message remains the same to all bird keepers – that they must continue to do their bit to maintain strict biosecurity measures on premises so that we do not lose the progress that we have made.”

All flock keepers, including backyard and hobby keepers, are being encouraged to use the next few days to prepare their ranges so that birds can be let outside again.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has guidance on steps to take before letting birds outside.

Recommended steps include netting off or covering ponds, removing any food sources that might attract wild birds, disinfecting concrete areas around the sheds, and cutting the grass on the range to aid decontamination.  

The ban on gatherings of poultry will remain in place as part of the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone, which places a legal requirement on all bird keepers in Northern Ireland to follow strict biosecurity measures.