Poultry farms in Western Australia have gone into lockdown after confirmation that the deadly H5N1 bird flu has arrived on the country's mainland, marking the first cases detected in wild birds on Australian soil.
Ingham's announces complete lockdown
On Monday, Australia's largest poultry producer, Ingham's Group, announced a 'complete lockdown' in WA, despite no commercial detections of H5N1. The company stated it would ask the state government to allow free-range chickens to be kept indoors, while all nonessential access to its operations would be stopped.
The move came after a brown skua, found on a remote beach near Esperance, was discovered to have the 'highly pathogenic' H5N1 virus over the weekend. A giant petrel in the same area was also tested and returned a preliminary positive result, while reports indicate more than a dozen cases of sick or dead birds along the WA coast.
Australia's last continent free of the virus
Before this confirmation, Australia had been the only continent free of H5N1, which has killed millions of birds and thousands of marine mammals since 2021. The arrival of the virus represents a significant biosecurity challenge for the nation.
Australia's chief veterinary officer, Beth Cookson, told ABC's Radio National that the virus had not been detected in wildlife, poultry, or agricultural systems. However, she said authorities were trying to determine whether the infected birds had spread the disease into other populations. 'Our approach is to really learn from the overseas experience and look at the practical actions that can be put in place to mitigate the impacts as far as possible,' she said on Monday.
Market reaction and government response
Shares in Ingham's dropped as much as 14% on Monday, according to Bloomberg. The share price has been sliding for four months and was down more than 23% in the year to date. The Australian Financial Review reported on 1 June that the $777 million company was 'deep in turnaround mode' after a contract with Woolworths was restructured.
Federal environment minister Murray Watt said Cookson and threatened species commissioner Dr Fiona Fraser would brief state and federal environment ministers about the virus on Monday. 'We've been working very hard with states, industry, environment groups [and] scientists over the last couple of years to make sure that we are as well prepared as we possibly could be,' he said. 'As a government, we've invested $113 million, including $11 million in the most recent budget in those preparedness efforts. So I feel confident that we've got the systems in place, and that we're working cooperatively with states, territories and others to make sure that we can manage this outbreak if it does get more serious.'
