Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to detail the change in the number of highly pathogenic avian influenza cases between January 2021 and January 2026.
Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs: The following table details the detections of avian influenza that have been made in each of the last five years. Numbers are recorded per avian influenza outbreak season which runs from 1 October to 30 September each year.
| Year(1 Oct – 30 Sept) | Number of detections in wild birds | Number of detections in farmed poultry | Number of detections in captive birds | Number of detections in backyard flocks |
| 2021-22 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022-23 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 to date | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
ENDS
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