When news broke over the weekend that Australia’s first mainland bird flu case in a mammal – the death of a long-nosed fur seal – had been detected, I felt deep sadness and dread for what’s likely to come next. We should expect large scale deaths of mammals, in addition to birds.
Author
- Euan Ritchie
Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University
The deadly strain of H5N1 bird flu has been spreading across Australia and devastating wildlife . So infection in a mammal was tragically just a matter of time.
This news comes after more than 1,000 crested terns and more than two dozen little penguins recently died in South Australia and Tasmania, respectively.
Australia’s federal, state and territory governments claim they’re well-prepared to manage this environmental and conservation crisis. Are they? There’s much that needs to be urgently improved.
Stopping the spread of bird flu is impossible, but we can still reduce the severity of its impacts on wildlife and the environment.
Clear communication must start early
There is extensive information on the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s bird flu page .
However, government websites are not where people typically get their information. Before bird flu arrived in mainland Australia in June , there should have been a national public awareness campaign across traditional and social media platforms, and even via letters from local councils. This did not happen.
Some people are clearly unsure about which activities are safe, such as bird feeding , and how to best protect themselves and their pets .
They need clearer information on dealing with sick and dying animals, whose responsibility it is, and what help is available. These issues are causing angst among wildlife carers , veterinarians and local communities, with some councils calling for more funding as they face cleaning up large numbers of dead, infected birds .
In Portland, southwest Victoria, locals have been collecting and disposing of dead birds themselves. They hope to minimise the spread of H5N1 to other wildlife, including much-loved local animals such as Sammy the seal .
Well-resourced, specialist taskforces, such as what occurred in Scotland , would be a better and safer way to ensure suffering animals are humanely euthanised, and their bodies are collected within hours, not days. We cannot access everywhere, due to Australia’s size, but rapid action is possible in many places. This is one of the most practical ways to reduce the severity of H5N1 outbreaks. Reducing animal suffering and trauma for people should be a priority.
Government should be transparent
Australia is the last continent to be affected by H5N1 bird flu – we’ve had years to prepare. Despite this, an official risk assessment pinpointing which birds and mammals are most susceptible was only released about three weeks ago, on August 4. This followed sustained pressure from scientists and scientific organisations .
This risk assessment paints a grim picture. But predicting risk is made even harder by the absence of pertinent information, such as species’ genetic diversity and likely immune function . Had the assessment been released earlier, gaps in our knowledge could have been prioritised for further research before H5N1 arrived on Australia’s shores.
Furthermore, details of federal, state and territory government plans to protect wildlife and important locations (such as breeding sites) were not made public until very recently. Even now, not all plans have been released, and some of those that are public lack sufficient detail.
Slow start to vaccination, and not for mammals
A vaccination program for little penguins is underway at Phillip Island, and will hopefully protect these much-loved birds. Regrettably, these vaccinations commenced after the death of an infected little penguin, meaning it’s possible bird flu is already spreading across Phillip Island.
The program, which requires penguins to be injected with two doses several weeks apart, will likely not achieve maximum benefit for a few weeks. Given bird flu arrived roughly two months ago, its delayed start should be explained by government. It stands in contrast to New Zealand, where vaccination for five threatened bird species began before the first detection in the country.
The protection of marine and land mammals has also not been a high priority for government. There is currently no vaccine legally approved for use on mammals. However, promising trials have occurred in the Hawaiian monk seal and northern elephant seal .
Given Australia has a unique array of mammals and a dire mammal conservation record , it’s remarkable the federal government has not invested in a vaccine. It would have had the potential to protect species such as the Australian sea lion, Tasmanian devil, eastern quoll, and other threatened mammals.
Funding is piecemeal
Australia’s Minister for the Environment, Murray Watt, says government investment has strengthened wildlife populations and made them “more resilient” in the face of bird flu. This is highly questionable .
Australia’s list of threatened species continues to grow, and now numbers well over 2,000 . Monitored populations of threatened shorebird species have more than halved since 2000 , and similarly, threatened mammal populations have fallen by more than 30%.
The federal government has spent A$113 million on bird flu preparation and response, and states and territories more than $24 million . But this falls far short of what’s needed.
More broadly, spending on environmental protection and recovery is less than 1% of the annual federal budget and set to drop further to less than 0.5% . Calls for an immediate $200 million bird flu funding package have so far been ignored.
Not too late
Overall, government responses to this deadly bird flu outbreak have been insufficient and much too reactive, but it’s not too late.
Australia’s unique species and environments are already suffering enormously through fires, algal blooms, coral bleaching, invasive species and other impacts. Bird flu is another blow, and we are likely yet to have seen the worst of it .
Yet Australia has the financial capacity, scientific expertise and community goodwill to greatly increase our care for the animals and places we all know and love. Governments must rise to this challenge, and significantly boost our response to bird flu as a matter of urgency.
