Poultry farms across Western Australia have initiated a complete lockdown following the detection of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu in local wildlife. The Ingham’s Group, Australia’s largest poultry producer, announced the lockdown on Monday after a brown skua was found infected with the virus on a remote beach near Esperance. Although there have been no commercial detections of H5N1 in poultry, the presence of the virus has raised significant concerns among producers and regulators alike.
Ingham’s Group is taking precautionary measures, including requesting state government approval to keep free-range chickens indoors and halting all nonessential access to its operations. Authorities, including Australia’s chief veterinary officer, Beth Cookson, are currently investigating the extent of the outbreak and whether the infected birds have spread the virus to other populations. Cookson emphasized the need to learn from international experiences to mitigate potential impacts.
Prior to this incident, Australia had been the only continent free of H5N1, which has devastated bird populations and marine mammals globally since 2021. The economic implications of the lockdown are already evident, with Ingham’s shares plummeting by as much as 14% on Monday, reflecting ongoing struggles for the company, which has seen its stock decline over 23% this year. The company has been in a challenging phase, recently restructuring a contract with Woolworths as it seeks to stabilize its operations.
As the situation develops, federal environment minister Murray Watt has announced that Cookson and the threatened species commissioner will brief state and federal ministers on the virus and its potential impact on wildlife and poultry industries.