Fears for SA’s galahs, corellas, cockatoos as deadly bird flu cases rise
South Australia’s most loved native bird species are under increasing threat after a mass outbreak of the deadly H5 bird flu was confirmed over the weekend.
Fears are growing for SA’s native wildlife following a mass-mortality event linked to the H5 bird flu on Saturday, with a bird expert saying species that flock together are under greater threat.
Invasive Species Council senior advocate James Johnston said the increase in cases and mass deaths were “a huge worry for our native wildlife” with the first detection in a seagull.
“This is going to rapidly spread inland. It’s now going across species, so it’s not just in the greater crested tern, it is now in seagulls,” Johnston said.
“It won’t take much to spread to our native wildlife as well as other bird species.”
Over the weekend, a mass bird flu outbreak was detected in the state’s south-east, with more than 80 dead and sick birds found off an island called Baudin Rocks.
Samples were collected after 49 dead birds, and 35 sick birds were found following aerial surveillance efforts last Friday, while a confirmed detection in a seagull was found in Robe.
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There are currently 42 confirmed cases and 65 suspected positives, with cases mainly found in greater crested tern and migratory seabird populations.
Johnston told InDaily the most at-risk species lived in colonies, raising fears for native species including galahs, corellas and sulphur-crested cockatoos.
“Those populations of birds that flock and that live in colonies, they’re in contact with a lot of other birds, so they’re probably the most at-risk species,” Johnston said.
“Seagulls, migratory birds and seabirds are at big risk, but we don’t yet know the impact on species like corellas and galahs.
“But any population of Australian native bird that flocks like those, it could be quite detrimental to those populations.”
Concerns have also been raised for Kangaroo Island’s endangered sea lion population at Seal Bay, which is vulnerable to the deadly bird flu.
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Australian Marine Conservation Society campaigns director Alexia Wellbelove said the Australian sea lion population “cannot absorb the kind of losses” that bird flu has inflicted on marine mammals overseas.
“In South America, this virus killed 30,000 sea lion pups in just six months following transmission from birds to marine mammals,” she said.
Johnston has called for the government to implement a resilient package to “relieve as much pressure from our wildlife populations as possible”.
“That means removing invasive species threats like cats and foxes, and it also means making sure that there is enough water in wetlands so that they’ve got the best breeding conditions for some of our migratory birds,” he said.
“These are the practical, pragmatic, tangible issues that government can do to tackle this issue.”
SA chief veterinary officer Skye Fruean told ABC radio on Monday morning the number of suspected bird flu cases had mainly impacted species in the Kangaroo Island and South-East regions, but there were concerns of the virus spreading inland particularly now a seagull was in the body count.
“Every case is concerning. We do know it is going to spread into other species, silver gulls of course there are many of them and they do travel just about all over our state,” Fruean said.
“At this stage we only have that very small number confirmed but, of course, we do expect that to rise and that would be a concerning development for sure.”
Fruean said confirmation results were still being awaited from the mass mortality event, with samples having been sent to the CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong over the weekend.
To date, there remains no H5 bird flu detection in poultry or other livestock, with the state government affirming the risk to human health is low.
Acting Premier Kyam Maher, Environment Minister Emily Bourke and Fruean will provide a bird flu update on Monday afternoon.
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