“There’s no room for complacency” when it comes to bird flu in this country, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) poultry chair Nigel Sweetnam has said.

“Avian flu is pretty much a non-event in Ireland for the last two years for poultry. Thanks in no small part to biosecurity and our adherence to best practice.

“The importance of biosecurity cannot be over stated. Every time it pops its head, we’ve been on such high alert it has paid off,” he said.

This comes as dairy cattle in the US have contracted highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

IFA dairy chair Stephen Arthur said “any threat to our dairy industry is of course a concern”, but at present bird flu in cows is “not a worry” in Ireland.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US said there is no evidence bird flu in cattle poses a risk to human health.

The Department of Agriculture has said it is monitoring the situation in the US closely.