Poultry farmers are scrambling to bolster biosecurity measures as fears grow that a single H5 bird flu infection could wipe out entire flocks and cause egg prices to spike across the country. While no commercial poultry farms in Australia have reported infections, the first mass mortality event was confirmed on Monday, with dozens of wild greater crested terns found dead on an island in South Australia.
Mass Mortality Event in Wild Birds
The dead birds were discovered on Baudin Rocks, about three miles south of Cape Jaffa, following aerial surveillance and testing of samples from dead and sick birds last week. As of 8am local time on August 5, Australia has 101 confirmed detections of H5 bird flu, all in wild birds. The breakdown includes 81 in South Australia, 10 in Western Australia, 7 in Victoria, 2 in New South Wales, and 1 in Queensland.
Australia's Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the mass mortality was expected. "Sadly, we do know that once the H5 bird flu is spreading in wildlife and the natural environment, it is not possible to avoid significant losses, which is what we're starting to see now," she said, as per the ABC.
Biosecurity Investments and Challenges
Collins noted there is no evidence of the virus in poultry or agricultural systems, and the risk to human health remains low. She added that the government has invested and worked closely with the poultry sector to improve biosecurity. "But you do tend to see spillover impacts across the globe when it comes to the H5," she said.
Some egg producers have poured millions of dollars into new biosecurity measures, while others say they cannot afford to do the same. Victorian poultry producer Bradley McAuliffe told 9News that his farm was shut down overnight in 2024 when the H7 bird flu wiped out about two million birds across the country. "We lost in excess of 600,000 birds in a matter of 14 days," McAuliffe said.
He has invested tens of millions of dollars in biosecurity over the last three years and recently shifted packing and grading off the farm, adding tighter surveillance inside bird enclosures. "At any one time we are considering everyone and anyone a threat," he said.
Free-Range Producers Face Unique Challenges
In Queensland, 9Dorf Farms, an ethical and sustainable producer, is grappling with how to isolate free-range birds from wild ones when they cannot simply close the doors. "We have pasture-raised poultry... it would not be feasible or viable for us to take them inside," Bronwyn Neuendorf said. "We just don't have the facilities here."
Instead, the farm uses electric netting, a guard dog, and quarantine-level precautions. They also hope the warmer climate may be less favourable to the H5 virus. "The best sanitation is the sun," Neuendorf added.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), free-range egg producers who opt to keep hens indoors due to the outbreak may continue to label their eggs as free-range under existing regulations. Housing orders are so far voluntary, but if state governments mandate them, the ACCC will not take enforcement action for 90 days, allowing time for alternative labelling and consumer information.
Potential Price Doubling
Egg distributor Peter Marinos, who supplies millions of eggs to the hospitality sector, warned that one commercial infection could double the price of a carton of eggs. "It's really a ticking time bomb to know when it's going to happen," Marinos said, adding: "It's going to be extreme price rises."
