The public can now report sightings of dead wild birds online as part of a bid to contain the threat posed to poultry flocks by bird flu.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) has launched the new facility in an effort to enhance its regional avian influenza surveillance programme.
It comes as the north's chief vet warned that there is an "increasing likelihood" that bird flu will infect kept poultry flocks.
In June, the department received confirmation that the highly pathogenic HPAI strain was found in samples of dead black headed gulls in Co Down, Co Derry and Co Tyrone.
The new online form on the Daera website, which is desktop and mobile compatible, allows users to accurately provide the location of the dead bird using GPS.
Chief veterinary officer Robert Huey said the reporting of dead wild birds by the public was a "key component" in the department’s avian flu surveillance programme.
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"Previously, dead waterfowl – swans, geese, or ducks – or other wild birds, such as gulls or birds of prey, were reported to the Daera helpline, but this new online method will make it much faster and easier for findings to be reported and will greatly enhance the wild bird surveillance programme," he said.
“The public’s continuing help is vital and I encourage anyone who comes across a dead wild bird to report it through the website on their computer or mobile device as soon as possible.”
Mr Huey said the most recent HPAI confirmations in wild birds indicated there was "an increasing likelihood of incursion into kept flocks".
He reminded all birdkeepers that it is a legal requirement to register their birds, including those kept in a domestic setting, to enable the department to provide up-to-date information on bird flu and measures to take to prevent its spread.
"The risk of an avian influenza incursion to poultry remains and the disease, once in poultry flocks, has a devastating impact on our local industry," he said.
"It is therefore vitally important to maintain high levels of biosecurity as individual site biosecurity remains a crucial mitigation factor."
