Pheasants to be culled in bird flu outbreak
A thousand pheasants are to be culled after suspected bird flu was detected at a commercial poultry premises in County Tyrone.
Restrictions have been put in place around the farm near Newtownstewart, the Department for Agriculture, Rural Affairs and the Environment (Daera) has said.
It is the first suspected outbreak in Northern Ireland since November 2025.
Three have been confirmed in the 2025/26 season.
The Chief Veterinary Officer urged all flock keepers to adhere to strict biosecurity measures to prevent spread of the disease, which poses a serious threat to the significant poultry sector in Northern Ireland.
Brian Dooher said samples from the affected premises will be analysed at the National Reference Laboratory to confirm the outbreak while humane culling gets underway.
A housing order means all poultry must be kept indoors or otherwise separate from wild birds and a ban on bird shows remains in place.
Temporary control zones are routinely declared around the site of an outbreak to limit the spread of the virus.
It means enhanced record keeping and certain movement restrictions for poultry businesses within a 3km radius of the affected premises.
What is bird flu?
Bird flu is a disease caused by a virus that infects birds and sometimes other animals, such as foxes, seals and otters.
It spreads through contaminated feed and water, or through birds' droppings and saliva.
The major strain - circulating among wild birds worldwide - is a type of the virus known as H5N1. It emerged in China in the late 1990s.
Bird migration has led to outbreaks in domestic and wild birds.
The virus has in very rare cases infected humans but experts say the current risk to humans is low.
