Wildlife experts are calling for vaccines to be made available to backyard bird keepers to protect flocks from avian influenza as the deadly virus spreads inland in some parts of Australia.
Wildlife educators Al and Louise McKay, who live 1 kilometre from a virus detection site in regional South Australia, said they were on high alert and worried about their rare birds.
The couple lives in the Penola district, about 100 kilometres inland from the tourist town of Robe, which has been a focal point of Australia’s bird flu outbreak.
Louise and Al McKay are calling for vaccines to be available to backyard bird keepers. (ABC South East SA: Liz Rymill)
They are looking at the potential of vaccinating two main species kept under licence: the glossy black cockatoo and the masked owl.
In South Australia, this particular species of glossy black cockatoo is critically endangered and only found on Kangaroo Island.
“We’re very concerned,” Mr McKay said.
“We want to be proactive and not caught on the back foot.
“Our birds are difficult to rehouse and need certain conditions, including light, so vaccinating would be a more practical measure.”
Louise McKay has modified enclosures to expand biosecurity measures. (ABC South East SA: Liz Rymill)
The couple, who run an educational wildlife business that exhibits at aged care homes, schools, country shows and public events, said they would also look at changing their exhibitions and keeping their birds off the program until vaccinations were available.
Mrs McKay said they had implemented biosecurity measures, including moving water bowls so they could not be accessed by wild birds, and checking regularly for droppings and for wild birds landing on enclosures.
“A lot of bird keepers are anxious about this evolving situation,”
Mrs McKay said.
“Making vaccines available would alleviate some of the stress and provide some assurance our treasured animals are safe.”
Cases spike along coast
H5N1 bird flu has been detected in crested terns along the Limestone Coast, from Robe to Port MacDonnell and Southend.
Multiple dead birds can be seen lying on beaches and foreshores at these coastal towns.
A dead seagull was found near the Robe boat ramp last week. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)
“We’ve never seen a crested tern in our area, but I’m told they fly to Lake Mundi and sometimes on the Glenelg River in Victoria,” Mr McKay said.
Another greater crested tern was also found this week inland at Tarpeena, while across the border in Victoria, a further seven cases of H5N1 bird flu have been detected in greater crested terns in Phillip Island, Mildura, Warrnambool, Hamilton, Hawkesdale and St Andrews Beach.
Agriculture Victoria chief biodiversity officer James Todd said the detections in new parts of the state, including at Seal Rocks on Phillip Island, were significant developments.
“These detections show us that the virus is continuing to move through wild bird populations, and its ability to move across large regions,” he said.
A South Australian government spokesperson this week said South Australia was part of a national approach using vaccinations to protect some of the most vulnerable native birds.
The spokesperson said the focus would be on “priority species in captivity”.
They said it was “difficult” and “impractical” to deliver vaccines to most “free-living species” because many vaccines required multiple doses.
“Vaccination is another tool which we add to our range of preparedness strategies including surveillance, biosecurity measures and conservation actions to reduce other threats and disturbance — to help protect our wildlife,” the spokesperson said.
Community has role to play
Mrs McKay encouraged community members to continue reporting and recording potential avian influenza cases and to be vigilant around sick birds.
She said the infected bird they reported near their home “did attempt to flutter but couldn’t get any elevation, was walking in circles, looking down, and wasn’t able to move any great distance”.
Greater crested terns are some of the first birds to have contracted the H5N1 bird flu virus in Australia. (iNaturalist: Tommy Osborne, Greater crested tern, CC BY-NC 4.0)
“When I saw this tern so close by, I went into a panic that it had to be collected quickly because I’d have hated any wildlife to start scavenging on it and then land on our aviaries at home,” she said.
“That side of things really worries me.”
Louise McKay wants to protect her endangered glossy black cockatoo. (ABC South East SA: Liz Rymill)
The couple said they had been satisfied with the reporting process, and were awaiting a follow-up call to confirm the case.
“We took an extra step and contacted one of the senior ranger officers who assured us it would be dealt with quickly,” Mrs McKay said.
“The next time we approached the area, the bird had been removed.”
