Northern Ireland wetland centre is emptying its bird cages and ending guided school tours

The story

Castle Espie on Strangford Lough is about to look very different. The charity that runs the County Down reserve says every remaining bird in its captive collection will move to other sites across Britain from November, and the guided school programme is ending too. Director of operations Alex Lane says the collection once held around 500 birds and now sits below 100. She points to avian influenza outbreaks, a sizeable budget deficit and the red tape of moving birds between Great Britain and Northern Ireland since Brexit. There is no aligned system for those transfers anymore, and health certificates plus entry checks have made restocking hard. Lane says the plan is to reset the site as a hub for wild wetland conservation and free up space for birds that arrive on their own. Self guided school visits will still be welcome. SDLP MLA Cara Hunter called the loss of guided education "disappointing" and warned schools with less money could lose a door into nature on their doorstep.