Fota Wildlife Park Confirms Extended Closure and Additional Mitigation Measures
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025. Fota Wildlife Park confirms it will remain closed for a number of weeks following an outbreak of H5N1 Avian Influenza, which originated from wild bird populations in the Cork Harbour area. Eleven confirmed cases of avian influenza have been identified in the Greylag Goose population.
Fota Wildlife Park, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has begun implementing a comprehensive strategy of mitigation measures including isolating the bird species in its care from the wild population and the construction of new temporary aviaries to house birds through the winter months, in order to limit the risk of further infection from wild birds.
Additionally, and in discussion with DAFM, Fota Wildlife Park has also made the extremely difficult decision to humanely euthanise some of its impacted Greylag Goose population. This difficult, last-resort measure is necessary to prevent wider transmission and protect the Park's rare and genetically important conservation collection.
Aileen Tennant, Director, Fota Wildlife Park, said:
“This is an extremely difficult time for everyone at Fota Wildlife Park. This action is being taken based on expert veterinary advice and our unwavering commitment to safeguarding birds in our care, especially our endangered breeding species. Our extensive, pre-existing vaccination programme and robust biosecurity protocols have proven successful, with the vast majority of birds in the Park remaining healthy and showing no symptoms of illness.”
“We are treating this situation with the utmost seriousness, and I want to thank our expert teams for their dedication in caring for all our animals while the Park is closed. We are working with DAFM on implementing our longer-term strategy, which includes the construction of new aviaries for our birds to limit further risk from wild populations.”
“I want to reassure the public that while our gates remain closed, our animal care team is continuing to deliver the highest standards of care for all of the animals at Fota Wildlife Park. We look forward to being able to welcome visitors back to the Park when the site is officially deemed safe to reopen,” Ms. Tennant concluded.
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About Fota Wildlife Park
Fota Wildlife Park is home to 21 species of captive birds (approximately 168 birds in total). It is also home to over 100 species of animals (almost 700 animals in total) and 75 of these animal species are at risk of extinction.
Fota Wildlife Park is a conservation charity and is part of the Zoological Society of Ireland, located on 100 acres at Fota Island 10km east of Cork City.
The Park has an annual attendance of approximately 430,000 visitors, and its vision is to inspire people to understand and conserve the biodiversity of our natural world. The Park’s core values of conservation, education, and research have ensured that we are uniquely placed to foster greater public understanding of the threats to plant and animal habitats and decreasing global biodiversity.
Fota Wildlife Park has made considerable investment in the past 10 years, upgrading its infrastructure including an indoor giraffe viewing area, the Madagascan Village and the Asian Sanctuary which features Asian lions, Sumatran tigers, and Indian rhino. Fota Wildlife Park opened to the public in June 1983 and celebrated four decades of Conservation in Action by completing the sustainably built Education, Conservation and Research Centre, co-funded by the Government via the OPW.
With many species in its care increasingly vulnerable to climate change and habitat loss, Fota Wildlife Park has made sustainability a cornerstone of its operations. Significant moves toward carbon neutrality include installing 1,112 m² of solar panels across key areas and retrofitting the giraffe house with improved insulation, solar panels, and a new roof to reduce heat loss. These projects were co-funded by the Government through the Office of Public Works.
See www.fotawildlife.ie for more
