Debate contribution: Foot-and-mouth Disease, Avian Influenza and Bluetongue

Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on 11 March 2025.

MLA

Mr Andrew Muir

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

11 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statements

Heading

Foot-and-mouth Disease, Avian Influenza and Bluetongue

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4855523

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make a statement to the Assembly on the recent confirmation of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Hungary. I also intend to use the statement to highlight recent developments and ongoing departmental actions with regards to the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak in Northern Ireland and the ongoing incursion of the bluetongue virus in Great Britain. Those three diseases, at present, pose a triple threat to our local industry, and we must take all possible action to mitigate them in order to protect farmers' livelihoods, our poultry and livestock and the wider agri-food economy. I will explain how I intend to keep Members apprised of ongoing developments in those areas. An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed in a dairy cattle herd in Hungary, near its border with Slovakia, on 6 March 2025. That outbreak, the first in Hungary in almost 50 years, followed confirmation of the disease on 10 January in a herd of water buffalo in Brandenburg, north of Berlin in Germany. As many Members will be aware, foot-and-mouth is a severe and highly contagious viral disease that affects cattle, sheep, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals. It is a notifiable disease, and failure to report it constitutes an offence. Foot-and-mouth disease is not considered to be a public health threat, and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has confirmed that products of animal origin remain safe for consumption. In 2001, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease resulted in dire consequences for our farming community and the wider economy, costing approximately £8 billion across the UK. The emergence of the disease in Hungary, following so quickly after the recent finding in Germany, is therefore a significant concern not only for our livestock owners but for the entire agriculture sector across the UK, Ireland and the EU. Officials in Hungary are implementing steps to prevent further spread of the disease, including the culling and safe disposal of all susceptible animals on the affected holding, and establishing disease control zones. Slovakian authorities have instigated corresponding 3 km and 10 km zones as a result of the confirmation of foot-and-mouth disease in Hungary. They reiterate, however, that they have not confirmed any outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and have not had a case in 50 years. German officials have finished surveillance in the zones established in response to the outbreak there on 10 January, and, thankfully, there have been no further confirmations. To protect Northern Ireland, we have strict import controls on the movement of animals and animal products from areas affected by foot-and-mouth disease. That means that all susceptible species and their products from disease control areas in Hungary are restricted from entering Northern Ireland. That is similar to the measures that were implemented following the case of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany. Departmental officials advise that there have been no movements of susceptible live animals from Hungary or Slovakia to Northern Ireland since the beginning of this year. I hope to have a meeting shortly with my counterpart at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD. I am requesting urgent meetings with ministerial colleagues at DEFRA to discuss the developments, and I will seek to ensure a unified response across the UK and, I note, Ireland. The Chief Veterinary Officer for Northern Ireland, Brian Dooher, and officials are maintaining close and frequent communication with their counterparts across these islands to facilitate a comprehensive response. My departmental officials met key industry stakeholders on Friday evening to keep them apprised of the situation. I say, "Thank you" to my officials for their work in this and many other areas. On foot-and-mouth disease preparedness in Northern Ireland, as was outlined to Members in my written ministerial statement following the first case of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany in January, my Department has well-established, robust disease control contingency plans in place to manage the risk of disease incursions and to protect farmers and food security. The foot-and-mouth disease response plan outlines clear procedures for responding to suspected cases of foot-and-mouth disease, including rapid diagnostic testing, protocols to restrict animal movements and the establishment of disease control zones to mitigate onward spread of the disease. The plan was tested extensively during a UK national exercise in 2018 and subsequent UK tabletop exercises as recently as last year. The actions that will be taken, alongside our strong veterinary surveillance system to detect unusual disease symptoms, include prompt follow-up investigations of any suspect cases. I now turn to avian influenza. As Members will be aware, to date this year, there have been three incursions of highly pathogenic avian influenza into commercial poultry premises, all in County Tyrone, and one incursion into captive bird premises near Magherafelt. There have also been 42 cases in England and one in Scotland. There have been no cases in the Republic of Ireland. Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, is a highly contagious viral disease affecting the respiratory, digestive and/or nervous system of many species of birds, and it is essential to emphasise that failure to report it constitutes an offence. The advice from the Public Health Agency (PHA) notes that avian influenza is primarily a disease of birds and that the risk to the general public's health is very low. The advice from the Food Standards Agency notes that avian influenza poses a very low food safety risk for UK consumers and that properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat. Northern Ireland relies heavily on the wider agri-food industry as a source of employment. Poultry and egg production contributes significantly to the agri-food economy and is valued at over £600 million. It is vital that we protect that industry. I will outline the measures that are being taken by my Department in response to the recent incursions of highly pathogenic avian influenza here in Northern Ireland. My Department has completed the depopulation of the four sites where the disease was confirmed. The total number of birds culled was approximately 110,000. I put on record my thanks for the engagement and cooperation of the affected flock owners during what I recognise was an incredibly difficult time for them and their families. I also thank my officials for their work on that. My Department has also implemented disease control zones that have been placed around all premises, with the necessary surveillance activities ongoing. The captive bird monitoring zone around the premises near Magherafelt has been lifted as of 4 March. The control zones around the three commercial premises will be lifted once all the required surveillance activities are complete. All flock keepers who are within a disease control zone will have been contacted with information on the restrictions and requirements laid down by my Department for the movement of poultry and poultry-related products. A movement licensing centre has been established to facilitate those movements. As Members will be aware, I introduced an avian influenza prevention zone (AIPZ) across Northern Ireland on Saturday 18 January 2025. The decision to introduce the AIPZ followed a disease risk assessment by DAERA veterinary officials that took several risk factors into consideration, including results from wild bird investigations. The measures in the AIPZ include stringent mandatory biosecurity measures to help prevent the spread of the disease from wild birds or another source to poultry; a requirement that poultry or other captive birds are provided with food and water to which wild birds have no access; and mandatory rules on cleaning and disinfection. I then took the decision on 12 February to introduce a mandatory housing order across all of Northern Ireland for all kept birds and poultry, effective from 12.01 am on Monday 17 February. That was announced on Wednesday 12 February to permit time for the industry to prepare. In addition, a ban on poultry gatherings has been implemented in conjunction with the housing order. The housing order legally requires all bird keepers, including owners of pet birds, commercial flocks and backyard and hobby flocks, to keep their birds indoors or otherwise separate from wild birds. I was pleased that engagement with my counterpart in the Republic of Ireland, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, resulted in the housing order applying in both jurisdictions from Monday 17 February. The AIPZ and associated housing order will remain in force until the risk of further incursions has decreased. My Department will keep that regularly under review. My officials, including the Chief Veterinary Officer, remain in close contact with colleagues across the other jurisdictions and keep key industry stakeholders regularly updated on our response to those incursions. The processes required have demonstrated good operational capability, which bodes well for confidence in the commitment of officials and the industry to react with the necessary actions. However, I am conscious of resource limitations should more than one of these animal disease threats impact on Northern Ireland concurrently or should we face a prolonged period of challenge.

The third animal disease threat to our agri-food industry remains that of bluetongue, which is an insect-borne viral disease to which all species of ruminants are susceptible, although sheep are most severely affected. Cattle and goats that often appear to be healthy can carry high levels of the virus and provide a source of further infection. The disease is caused by a virus that is transmitted by certain species of biting midges. Animal-to-animal transmission is not reported, except through the transplacental route. The species of midge that carries the infection is found in Northern Ireland. Bluetongue can reduce milk yield, cause sickness and reduce reproductive performance. It can also have a major impact on trade. It is a disease of animals, not humans, so there are no human or public health issues. On 11 November 2023, DEFRA confirmed the presence of bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) in a single cow in Kent. That follows the spread of the disease on continental Europe. BTV-3 has now been confirmed in over 200 premises in Great Britain. One case of BTV-12 has also been confirmed in England. Two cases in Wales were found in sheep that had been moved legally from the east of England. Further sampling and testing in Wales indicate that the disease is not spreading locally. The restricted zone now covers a significant proportion of the east of England. A map detailing the restricted zone can be accessed on the gov.uk website. On Wednesday 4 September 2024, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs approved three unauthorised BTV-3 vaccines. That followed robust assessment by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and extensive engagement with stakeholders across the UK. While the approval of unauthorised vaccines is UK-wide, the decision to use them under licence is a devolved matter. At this juncture, the use of those approved unauthorised vaccines under general licence is for livestock keepers in England. Recently, the Welsh Government approved the use of the three unauthorised BTV-3 vaccines for voluntary use under general licence in Wales from 1 March 2025. Direct movement of all live ruminants and camelids from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is still suspended. The use of approved unauthorised vaccines in England and Wales does not impact on that. At present, the disease threat to Northern Ireland has been determined as "medium", and the highest risk of disease incursion is controlled as susceptible animals cannot be imported here from Great Britain. My officials will continue to monitor developments across Great Britain and work closely with all stakeholders, including colleagues in the Republic of Ireland, whom they most recently met only last week to determine next steps and what approaches we would advance immediately in the face of any incursion. I have also been engaging with my counterparts in Great Britain and in the South on the matter since last summer. It is crucial that we work closely together to mitigate any spread of that devastating disease to the island of Ireland, in particular, which, as you know, is considered one epidemiological unit. That is of paramount importance as we turn towards spring and summer, which bring with them warmer weather and the increase in midge activity that can result in the spread of BTV from animal to animal and herd to herd. As we head into that period, my officials are planning further extensive communications on how farmers should remain vigilant for BTV. My Department stands ready to take any possible steps, in conjunction with key stakeholders, to mitigate BTV incursion and spread. I will turn to next steps and communications. In the coming weeks, I will chair the next scheduled meeting of the UK inter-ministerial group for environment, food and rural affairs, where that triple threat to animal health, and therefore to farmers' livelihoods and economies across all jurisdictions, is to be discussed. I will also keep in regular close contact on those matters with my colleagues in the South. I will ensure that updates are provided, as necessary, to my Executive colleagues and also, importantly, to the AERA Committee in the first instance, and will be happy to return to the House if there are any further significant and serious developments in the time ahead. My officials will continue extensive ongoing engagement with officials across all jurisdictions. They will also ensure regular and timely updates to all our stakeholders. That will cover developments across those current three threats to our agri-food industry and include engagement on many other challenges that must be heightened that are a risk to livestock in Northern Ireland, including African swine fever and the ongoing spread and maintenance of endemic diseases such as bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) and TB. My Department will also continue to deploy wide-ranging communications reminding all farmers and flock keepers of the necessity of adhering to high levels of biosecurity. Comprehensive biosecurity guidance is available on the DAERA website, and adhering to it protects against disease spread in general and the triple-threat animal disease that our wider agri-food industry is facing. The guidance emphasises the importance of maintaining high biosecurity standards in order to help reduce the risk of transmission of the three diseases. Continued vigilance is paramount, and it is essential that private veterinary practitioners and flock keepers remain alert to any unusual symptoms and report them immediately to a veterinarian or directly to DAERA. Further detail, including photos of clinical signs of foot-and-mouth disease, avian influenza and bluetongue, is available on the DAERA website. Although we have implemented significant protective measures, there is no room for complacency. We must continue to convey clear messages about the importance of responsible sourcing, of maintaining high biosecurity standards and of promptly reporting any unusual symptoms in order to help protect Northern Ireland's farms and wider industry. I request that Members assist me in disseminating key messages about responsible sourcing, maintaining vigilance and the need for farmers immediately to report any unusual symptoms. Those steps will further help ensure the protection of our livestock, as well as the agriculture sector, which is vital to our economy.

Thank you, Patsy, for your question. Although I work with my colleagues across the UK and will be chairing the next inter-ministerial group meeting, I am very conscious that we are on the island of Ireland. We are a single epidemiological unit, and I have a very strong personal relationship with my counterpart in the South, Martin Heydon. Officials, North and South, are also constantly working together. That we rolled out a housing order to combat avian influenza on the island at the same time demonstrates that. We will continue to engage on all the measures being taken. I hope to meet up with Martin soon to talk through the situation, because it is important that we work together. All of us in the House have a role to play. Hopefully, it is a matter on which we can come together in order to disseminate the message about vigilance and earlier reporting, because it is key that we do so.

We have looked at the risk window, and probably a bit before that by going back to the beginning of the year to track movements. If it will be helpful, we can write to the Committee about movements over the past calendar year. The Member's second question is important. For farmers and the industry in Northern Ireland, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease would be devastating. That is why it was important for me to come here today to make a statement and to ask Members to disseminate the message about vigilance and earlier reporting. If people suspect an outbreak, the quicker that it is reported, the better. The fact that foot-and-mouth disease has been discovered in Hungary, further to the case in Germany, concerns me, and that is why I am here today. It is an ever-evolving picture, not just for foot-and-mouth disease but for other threats that I outlined. I hope that we can continue to update the Committee as things progress, because things are moving at a bit of a pace.

The UK Government are the primary liaison point with the EU. That is the established protocol, so they will continue to do that. I reached out to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and briefed him on Friday, and I am seeking a meeting with Baroness Hayman. Those are my points of contact in the UK, but I am also conscious of North/South relations, and the South of Ireland is, obviously, a member state. I am trying to cover all bases, but the primary contact point with the EU is the UK Government.

First, I congratulate you on your new post as deputy leader, Michelle. When it comes to the issue that you asked about, I have to be conscious of the Windsor Framework (Implementation) Regulations 2024, which are largely concerned with movements between GB and NI. That issue does not sit under my direction or control. We are in a different space when it comes to that. I asked to see some of the inspections that were occurring at, for example, the City Airport, where a sniffer dog has been deployed to identify illegal imports. That is a good measure, and I have asked for consideration to be given to whether there is any scope to increase that. I will also discuss that with Baroness Hayman from the UK Government to see whether we can bring in any further measures in relation to movement between GB and NI. I am very conscious of the risk related to that. I also want to discuss with the UK Government the border target operating model. Concerns have been expressed about the inadequacy of that model, and I want to explore further with the UK Government what they are doing about it.

My Department has well-established and robust disease control contingency plans in place to manage the risk of disease incursions and to protect our livestock farmers and the wider industry. The foot-and-mouth disease control strategy outlines clear procedures for responding to suspect cases in Northern Ireland. Foot-and-mouth disease is listed as a category A disease under EU animal health law. Category A diseases do not normally occur in the EU or Northern Ireland, and it is a requirement that immediate eradication measures be taken when they are detected. In the event of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Northern Ireland, the disease control actions taken by my Department are mandatory: they are legislated for in EU and domestic law. Initial actions include restricting suspect premises, conducting veterinary investigations, taking samples from suspect species for testing at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), establishing disease control zones, humanely culling suspect species on an infected premises and cleansing and disinfecting infected premises. On confirmation of disease, a protection zone with a minimum radius of 3 kilometres and a surveillance zone with a minimum radius of 10 kilometres will be imposed around the infected premises. The size of the disease control zones is based on extensive research and risk assessments to ensure that there is a minimal risk of disease spread. The effectiveness of the approach was confirmed in a report on foot-and-mouth disease that was published on 6 May 2021. It concluded that the disease control zones would:

"comprise > 99% of the infections from an affected establishment if transmission occurred."

I am approaching the issue of foot-and-mouth disease as a threat. I will discuss funding with the Finance Minister, if it becomes an issue. I am keen that we approach the matter with the seriousness that it deserves. We are doing that, and we are doing it with North/South cooperation — between Ministers and through officials — and it is important that we do that. The most effective thing that we can do at the moment is ensure that we keep foot-and-mouth disease out of the island of Ireland through effective border controls, vigilance and early reporting. We are focused on those measures.

Thank you, Keith, for your kind words about the officials in my Department. They have been working night and day and over weekends to deal with the issue. They went in personally to effect the culling of the birds, and I am very grateful to them. Your words mean a lot to me. The biosecurity requirements are legally mandated, because the zone remains in place across the whole of Northern Ireland. It is a legal requirement to adhere to them. Most premises are doing it because they understand their importance for their business. They involve simple measures for ensuring that records are kept about the people who enter and leave the premises, that the premises are properly secured and noting whether there is an issue about access by rodents. They are standard things, and there is stuff on our website about them. It is important that I re-emphasise the importance of biosecurity, because we have a number of weeks left of migratory wild birds passing over Northern Ireland, and the concern is that the outbreak could occur again. It is important that we emphasise the importance of biosecurity.

While bluetongue is not in Northern Ireland, I have a significant concern about it because of the spread that has occurred in England and because there are cases in Wales. I was in the glens of Antrim, and I know that, on a clear day, you can see Galloway clearly. That gives you an idea of how the virus can move in Great Britain. All it takes is for the wind to be directed in a certain way, and it will come to Northern Ireland. Its impact on us could be significant. If people have any concerns about bluetongue, it is really important that they report them straight away so that we can test and take action. If you speak to the farming communities in England and Europe who have endured the virus, you will find that it has had a significant impact on their trade. I want to raise my concern about bluetongue, because, while the weather is quite nice, as it gets warmer, bluetongue will become a greater threat to us in Northern Ireland.

Compensation is payable for animals culled for disease control purposes at the direction of the Department. I am guided by the vires for my Department and established policy on the issue. I will help farmers where I can, but I also need to work within the confines of 'Managing Public Money'.

There was a meeting with stakeholders on Friday evening to discuss the preparations and the reports from Hungary. The engagement with stakeholders was appreciated, and it will be ongoing not just for foot-and-mouth disease — that is an evolving picture — but for avian influenza and other matters. While I engage with my officials, Members and my ministerial counterparts across the UK and Ireland, the engagement with stakeholders is ongoing. I rang the president of the Ulster Farmers' Union on Friday as well.

I am aware of the incident, and it was widely reported in the farming press. To be honest, when I heard about the incident, I was absolutely furious. I was disgusted that someone would do that and threaten our farming community in Northern Ireland. I echo the words of the Ulster Farmers' Union and encourage people to source responsibly and stick by the rules, because we all need to stand together to safeguard our industry. The Windsor framework implementation regulations that were made last year mean that, largely, movements between GB and NI do not sit under my direction and control but under the direction and control of the Secretary of State. That is why I requested a meeting with Baroness Hayman to discuss the issue, and it is why I let the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland know about it and continue to engage with him. One of the quirks of my Department is that it has two Ministers.

Thank you. I outlined earlier the vires and the ability of my Department to pay compensation. Compensation is paid for disease-control purposes. If a notifiable strain of avian influenza is confirmed on a premises, compensation based on the current market value will be payable for all poultry culled at the Department's direction. We will do what we can within our vires and established policy. I totally understand the difficulties that farmers face when avian flu arrives. It is unexpected, and, clearly, it is unwanted and unplanned for. We will continue to work with the industry, particularly in getting on site to do the testing and to assist with the humane culling of the poultry. I am also conscious that we will provide support where we can within the legal vires and within the 'Managing Public Money' guidance. The most important thing is that our Department works with the people affected very quickly, which it has done.

Thank you very much, John. A lot of people ask me how avian influenza got here, and that is one of the challenges. The disease spreads through the movement of infected birds and from bird to bird by contact with contaminated body fluids and faeces, either directly or through contaminated objects and surfaces. Avian influenza is not an airborne disease. The avian influenza virus changes frequently, creating new strains, and there is a constant risk that one of the new strains will spread easily among people. However, there is no evidence that any recent strain of avian influenza has been able to spread directly between humans.

I hope that the situation does not arise again. That is why it is important that we are here together and that we collectively work on the response. As I have outlined, the key contact point with the EU is the UK Government. That is the established procedure, and I reached out to the UK Government through the Secretary of State on Friday. I am seeking a meeting with Baroness Hayman at DEFRA, and I am reaching out for a meeting with Martin Heydon, my counterpart down South, so that we can work collectively on the issue. Let us hope that the dark days that you outlined never come back to Northern Ireland.

We are agile on that: as the situation evolves, the Chief Veterinary Officers are talking regularly. The point that the Member made about mental health is important. Rural Support plays a significant role in our rural communities, and I encourage anyone who is seeking advice or support to contact it. I felt that it was important to come here after confirmation of the case in Hungary at the end of last week to outline to Members what we are doing in response and that, given that such situations evolve rapidly, my plan is to engage directly with the Committee through written correspondence. We can send that in an agile fashion to keep the Committee updated. I hope that that will be useful. I spoke to the Chair and Deputy Chair on Friday afternoon. Other situations may evolve, and we want to make sure that people are quickly apprised rather than having to wait until a Monday, for example. I am acutely aware of the mental health of farmers, particularly those who have been affected by avian influenza. I really praise the work of Rural Support.

The Member has correctly outlined the situation for movement of ruminants from GB to NI as the result of the threat from bluetongue. I have had no serious representations from the farming community asking for that to be changed. I understand the challenges that that poses, but the focus has been on keeping bluetongue out of Northern Ireland. I put people's livelihoods, jobs and the industry ahead of ideology; that is what we need to do on this. The restrictions on foot-and-mouth disease-affected areas around Hungary are similar to those put in place in response to the outbreak in Germany. It is important to state that those arrangements have been in place. I will continue to engage with my colleague in the South on any further developments.

I will engage with Ministers, as I have outlined, to discuss our planned approach and how Ministers from the UK and Ireland are responding to this. Lessons have to be learned. Some Members will be aware of the reports about the suboptimal nature of the border target operating model in the case of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany. Hopefully, lessons have been learned from that in recent months. It is important to put it on record that, to protect Northern Ireland, strict import controls are in place to restrict the movement of animals and their food products from foot-and-mouth disease-affected areas, as I outlined to Mr Gaston. That means that movement to Northern Ireland of all susceptible species and their products from disease control zones in Hungary and Slovakia is prohibited. I reassure the Member that the establishment and size of disease control zones are based on extensive research and risk assessments to ensure that the risk of disease spread is minimal. The effectiveness of that approach was confirmed by the foot-and-mouth disease report published on 6 May 2021, which concluded that the disease control zones:

"comprise > 99% of the infections from an affected establishment if transmission occurred."

It is important to outline that that is our approach.

5,037 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:13 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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