Australia: Threatened Species Commissioner Fiona Fraser says bird flu outbreak ‘almost certain’

[Commonground]

An expert has warned that a highly contagious strain of bird flu will “almost certainly” spread to Australia, with the country “essentially surrounded”.​
August 25, 2025



A leading scientist has warned that it’s a matter of “when not if” the highly contagious H5 strain of bird reaches Australian shores, with experts wargaming worst-case scenarios and potential impacts on the country’s food security.

Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands are the three remaining areas in the world untouched by H5 bird flu, with Threatened Species Commissioner Fiona Fraser saying Australia is “essentially surrounded” ahead of the spring migratory bird season.

“We literally have millions of either sea birds and shore birds reaching Australia’s shores, and they essentially land all around Australia, along our wetlands (and on coastal) areas to breed,” she said,

“So the risk of incursion is all around Australia at any point of time.”

... https://www.news.com.au/technology/...n/news-story/b9e5aba9dd6e8b24b939c1b39765d172
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[Commonground]

Media
Millions thrown at preparing for deadly bird flu outbreak that will 'almost certainly' reach Australia

Aug 26, 2025

Millions more dollars have been thrown at a biosecurity defence plan to prepare Australia for the H5 bird flu outbreak sweeping the globe, which experts say will "almost certainly" reach our shores.
The federal government will divvy up $12 million between the states and territories for critical equipment that could facilitate a rapid mobilisation in the event of an outbreak.
The funding will also be spent on humane depopulation, decontamination and disposal equipment to prevent the spread of the disease.​
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The latest round of funding adds to the $100 million the government has invested to boost surveillance, preparedness and responses to H5.
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How is Australia preparing for the H5 strain?

State and territories, with the help of non-government organisations, are working on building resilience to H5 in Australia's most threatened and vulnerable species in the wild.
"A much smaller component of that is supporting highly threatened species in captivity," Fraser said.
Australia is also identifying the animals most susceptible to H5 and the areas that may be most impacted in the event of an outbreak to undertake preparedness planning.
Crews are removing other threats these vulnerable species face, like invasive rodents and weeds, to encourage greater breeding success.
"That is our best bet for responding for H5 bird flu in the wild, is dealing with other threats that we can tackle more effectively," Fraser said.
"There is always so much more work to do for our native wildlife and protecting them, but that is work we are really leaning into at the moment."​
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https://www.9news.com.au/national/h...ustralia/67a31f4d-4e2c-48f3-aa5b-c4510886f8b6
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