Following confirmed cases of avian influenza (bird flu) at Fota Wildlife Park, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has suspended public access to the Park until further notice. At this stage, four confirmed cases of unvaccinated birds have tested positive for H5N1 at the Park.
The team at Fota Wildlife Park has a robust zoonotic disease prevention and response programme in place, which includes a well-established avian influenza vaccination programme for the birds in its care. The safety of all staff, and the welfare of the animals in the care of the Fota Wildlife Park team, remains paramount during this time.
Aileen Tennant, Director, Fota Wildlife Park, said: “This is an extremely uncertain and worrying time for all of us at Fota Wildlife Park. We are working closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and remain focused on the care and welfare of our team and the wildlife in the Park. We are very grateful for the outpouring of support from members of the public, visitors, annual pass holders, as well as from our partners and international colleagues. I am conscious that this is a complex and dynamic situation, and we will continue to work closely under the Department’s guidance, with a focus on getting to the stage where the Park can reopen when it is safe to do so”.
Fota Wildlife Park is a not-for-profit organisation, with a 100 acre footprint. It relies on support from the public and visitors to the Park to carry out its core mission of conservation, education and the protection of endangered species. With average weekly operational costs of approximately €120,000, the closure of Fota Wildlife Park has a significant impact on its ability to generate revenue.
As this is an ongoing situation, further updates will be shared as additional information becomes available.
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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), 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.
