Wildlife experts are warning the escalation of the nation’s H5 bird flu outbreak is “the start of the mayhem” after South Australia detected three mass mortality events believed to be linked to the infection.
On the same day SA authorities revealed the death of more than 1,000 crested terns in three separate events, Tasmania also confirmed the loss of more than two dozen penguins and three crested terns.
Testing is still required to confirm bird flu as the cause of the deaths in both states, but authorities believe that to be reason in a clear sign of the growing severity of the outbreak.
Professor of Ecology at Deakin University, Marcel Klaassen, told ABC Radio National more deaths were inevitable.
“It now is established in Australia. We had these incursions starting in late June and by now it has well and truly arrived,” he said.
“I’m afraid this is only the start of the mayhem that is awaiting us and notably our wildlife.”
Biosecurity officers found mass bird deaths on three South Australian remote islands this week. (Supplied: SA Government)
Professor Klaassen said terns and gulls were particularly vulnerable because they gathered in large groups.
“But there are over 400 species that have so far been impacted by this virus globally. And that’s only what we observe, right?” Prof Klaassen said.
“Because a lot might go unseen, notably in areas where there are very few people.”
The Invasive Species Council said it was “shocking” and “dreaded news”.
“It is only the start of the scale of deaths we can expect in the months ahead as the virus spreads,” chief executive Jack Gough said.
“The devastation from bird flu is becoming very real.”
A dead bird believed to be impacted by bird flu. (ABC News: Carl Saville)
He said Australia might soon face a similar reality to the bird flu outbreak in South America.
“We look at South America, where we’re talking hundreds of thousands of birds dead in the first few months and that’s the scale of death that we can start to expect,” Mr Gough said.
Jack Gough says more needs to be done to protect birds amid the crisis. (Supplied: Invasive Species Council)
“While a thousand birds sounds shocking, this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms if the level of devastation we’re going to see and it’s going to start becoming very real for people on coastlines around Australia and islands around Australia.”
Mr Gough said this could include inland, particularly around wetlands, where birds congregated.
“Australian wildlife needs a bail out, it’s facing a huge threat in the form of bird flu, one that we can’t stop just as we weren’t able to stop the algal bloom in South Australia or the black summer bushfires on the east coast,” he said.
“This could be worse than both of those incidents in terms of wildlife impact, and it is going to be very visible and increasingly visible around the whole country.”
He said a focus on protecting wildlife areas from other threats including cats, foxes and the destruction of habitat was also crucial.
“That is what is going to be key to how wildlife survive and hopefully are able to thrive in the future after what’s going to be a pretty devastating wave of destruction,” he said.
Testing is currently being carried out on birds from King Island in Tasmania. (Supplied: Mel Wells )
Will vaccination be effective?
Last week, Victoria announced it would vaccinate 5,000 penguins on Phillip Island, after a bird from the island’s colony was found to have died from H5N1 bird flu.
In response to the mass mortality, SA’s state Premier Peter Malinauskus yesterday said it would now consider a potential vaccination program “under certain circumstances for certain species”, including penguins.
Mr Gough said while vaccination was important, it was also not an easy solution to combat the issue.
Victorian authorities are hoping to vaccinate at least 5,000 little penguins. (Supplied: Phillip Island Nature Parks)
“It’s something that potentially in limited circumstances, for some highly restricted species, ones in captivity or ones that are very easy to access can make a difference,” he said.
Wildlife Recovery Australia’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Stephen Van Mil said vaccination was not a practical solution.
“The reality it’s only going to be confined to flightless birds,” Mr Van Mil said.
“As far as birds that can fly…you’re not going to catch them, not once and definitely not twice.”
Dr. Stephen Van Mil says vaccination is not a practical solution. (Bobby Macumber, ABC)
Mr Van Mil said following the mass mortality deaths this week, the organisation had appealed to the federal government to commission more mobile wildlife veterinary hospitals in every state across the country.
“We know how to build them, we can build them quickly, we’re just leaning on the federal government to make a decision,” Mr Van Mil said.
“We’d be collecting as many live birds as we could and euthanising them and dispose them appropriately, because if dead birds are left exposed, the other birds of prey will come and eat on them and then they will become infected.
“It’s really important even though we can’t save birds affected by this horrible virus, that we can either humanely euthanise them and or dispose them appropriately.”
