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OTH-35 ACT Bird Flu Action Email MP TS - Website
OTH-35 ACT Bird Flu Action Email MP TS - Website
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We must protect our marine wildlife from bird flu
We must protect our marine wildlife from bird flu
We must protect our marine wildlife from bird flu
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I am concerned about bird flu; how will you help protect our marine life?
Dear Minister Watt and Minister Collins, I am writing to thank you for the work done to date, including funding for bird flu preparedness, wild bird surveillance and protective actions for threatened species and priority biodiversity. I am deeply concerned about the impacts on Australian wildlife now that the deadly new H5N1 strain of bird flu has reached our shores. As of June 24, the virus has now been detected on WA’s south coast, in South Australia and on Heard Island, in Australia’s sub-Antarctic territory.¹ The mass mortality of elephant seal pups is a grave reminder that our unique marine life is incredibly vulnerable to this deadly virus. With cases now confirmed on our mainland, Australia could face a wildlife disaster on the scale of the Black Summer bushfires should the virus spread to local wildlife populations. When H5N1 arrived in South America in 2023, it killed 40 per cent of Peru’s pelicans, over 30,000 sea lions, and 17,000 elephant seal pups.² Millions of wild birds have died worldwide, and research suggests our black swans and other endemic bird species - along with marine mammals such as Australian sea lions - could face local extinctions. Australia urgently needs to establish a national wildlife resilience fund to invest in threatened wildlife populations, with a focus on protection and recovery efforts, so that threats are minimised should bird flu spread beyond the existing cases. Options to reduce wildlife deaths and prevent extinctions include avoiding disturbance of affected wildlife colonies, swiftly removing carcasses, and possibly vaccinating. I am therefore asking that you: 1. Establish an additional fund for national wildlife resilience of at least $200 million over the next two years. This must prioritise protection and recovery of threatened wildlife populations, minimising threats before bird flu spreads beyond the existing cases. 2. Scale up public communication, including working through non-government partners. The experience worldwide demonstrates the potential for this virus to be catastrophic for Australia’s unique wildlife and threatened species. Investing in boosting the resilience of our threatened species by protecting and restoring their habitat, and reducing pressures on their populations is now essential to ensure their future. I look forward to your response and swift action on this issue. References: 1. Waller, P., & Chounding, A. (2026, June 22). Second case of deadly H5 bird flu confirmed in southern WA. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-22/second-case-of-deadly-h5-bird-flu-confirmed-in-southern-wa 2. Uhart et al. (2024). Massive outbreak of Influenza A H5N1 in elephant seals at Península Valdés, Argentina: increased evidence for mammal-to-mammal transmission. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.31.596774
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