High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza in pet birds, backyard poultry and wild birds

Purpose

This policy provides a basis for advocacy to governments about HPAI preparedness and response strategies impacting private veterinary practitioners who work with aviculture, pet birds, backyard poultry and wild birds. Cases of this nature differ from commercial poultry and require alternative management and control measures.

Policy

  • There must be involvement of private veterinary practitioners and AVA as stakeholders in government HPAI planning and management strategies.
  • There should be national guidelines and resources for private veterinary practices on how to manage birds and wildlife at their premises. Risks and consequences of HPAI on all species should be included in these plans.
  • There should be resources to educate bird owners on how to protect their birds and reduce transmission through implementing effective biosecurity measures.
  • There should be financial support for private practitioners impacted in the event of an HPAI outbreak.

Background

This document applies to all strains of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI), including H5N1 clade 2,3,4.4b (hereafter referred to as HPAI). Low pathogenicity avian influenza falls outside the scope of this policy.

HPAI is an infectious zoonotic disease that causes severe illness and death in poultry. Since 2021, a new strain of HPAI (H5N1 2.3.4.4b) emerged and is causing significant illness and deaths in poultry, wild birds and wild mammals in all geographical regions except Oceania (which includes Australia and New Zealand). There have been reported cases in humans overseas, causing mild to severe signs and occasionally death. The current global situation means there is an increased level of risk to Australia via migratory birds from the Northern Hemisphere, South Atlantic, sub-Antarctic, Antarctica and local non-migratory movements of infected wildlife (Animal Medicines Australia, 2022; Wildlife Health Australia, 2024a, 2024b; Wille, 2025).

The potential risk of an incursion of HPAI into Australia is high. Overseas experiences highlight an outbreak is likely to originate from wild bird movements, spread within wild bird populations and potentially spill over into commercial, back-yard poultry and pet birds (McClaughlin et al., 2024). In private veterinary practice risks arise due to unfamiliarity and lack of appropriate facilities to manage cases when avian patients, wildlife or stray birds are presented (Jewitt et al., 2024).

An outbreak of HPAI in Australia would be expected to have severe impacts on both animal and human health and welfare, including:

  1. considerable loss of life in backyard poultry, outdoor aviary collections and pet birds housed outdoors;
  2. outbreak in humans due to the zoonotic potential of the disease, risk of bird-human, human-bird and human-human transmission;
  3. significant financial losses for aviculturists and veterinary hospitals, especially those with a high avian caseload;
  4. profound emotional impacts on pet owners and veterinary professionals who see avian patients, due to grief associated with loss of birds, as well as the significant stress involved in making decisions to destroy infected or high-risk avian patients;
  5. compromised welfare of birds held privately where owners may avoid seeking veterinary care for fear their pets may need to be euthanased;
  6. any concealment of birds may create a transmission risk, with potential for virus mutation and ultimately human to human transmission.

In the event of a HPAI outbreak, a national emergency animal disease response will be initiated. The state or territory government in which the outbreak occurs will be responsible for managing the response. They will enact the relevant AUSVETPLAN, which will trigger biosecurity measures including movement controls.

Private veterinary practitioners play an important role in education as well as implementation of response strategies during an outbreak. In addition to their roles in the commercial poultry sector in conjunction with government response teams, veterinarians in private practice will be the first-line responders in the case of potentially infected backyard poultry, pet and wild birds.

It is essential that clear guidance is available for veterinary practitioners on outbreak management and public awareness in the private setting (such as aviculture, pet birds, backyard poultry and wild birds) as the approach will be different from the commercial sector. Private practitioners need to know what actions to take when presented with potentially infected birds, and how to minimise risks of spread to other animals or humans. There are also potential implications should practices have to be placed into quarantine. It is important that private veterinary practitioners receive government support in circumstances where they sustain financial impacts as a result of the response.

A brief summary of advice has been provided below for private veterinary practitioners. A detailed set of guidelines which will expand on these points is in development, aiming to provide practical resources and technical information for use by practitioners in the event of an outbreak.

First line summary for General Veterinary Practice
  • If possible, prior to consultation/presentation of a bird at the practice, obtain information on clinical signs to assist in decision-making
  • If in a declared emergency zone, or if you suspect an infected case, ask the owner/finder not to move the bird
  • If there is any suspicion of HPAI call the EAD Hotline on 1800 675 888
  • Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must be used in all cases presented to the practice
  • If the bird (whether owned, stray, or wildlife) is presented to the practice ensure isolation as much as practically possible
  • Testing should only be carried out under the direction of the authorities after contacting the EAD Hotline
  • Ensure appropriate levels of biosecurity including decontamination of the practice and isolation of staff from avian patients or staff-owned birds for at least 48hr after exposure
Legal Obligations

HPAI is a notifiable disease across all of Australia. Anyone who suspects HPAI has a legal responsibility to report it as soon as possible. To meet the legal requirements, you must:

Report the suspected case to an authorised officer by calling the EAD Hotline on 1800 675 888

Take all practical steps to mitigate the risk of spread of HPAI whilst caring for the avian patients, including developing a protocol for managing avian patients and having appropriate biosecurity protocols to eliminate or minimise the risk posed by HPAI.

Recommendations

  1. Private veterinarians (general practitioners and avian specialists*) and AVA must be included in government HPAI planning, due to the potential serious impacts on pet birds and private veterinary practices.
  2. This policy and subsequent guidelines should be adopted alongside the AUSVETPLAN by governments to ensure all areas (commercial, backyard and pets) are covered in any response strategy.
  3. Guidelines for general practice and for practices with high avian caseload should be available and distributed nationally. They should include resources for veterinary staff, clients and the general public to achieve a united understanding and encourage compliance.
  4. Any working group formed to review or update of the AUSVETPLAN should include representatives from AVA including a registered avian specialist*.
  5. Governments must notify the AVA and private practitioners early in the event of an HPAI outbreak and continue to provide effective communication and updates for its duration.
  6. Governments should provide financial support for PPE and Avian Influenza test equipment. The support should extend to practices that face potential temporary closure as a result of biosecurity orders leading to loss of business.

*Specialists in Avian Medicine and Surgery that are registerable in Australia include those with the following titles: Fellow of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists (FANZCVS), European College of Zoological Medicine (ECZM) or American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM).

Other relevant policies and position statements

References

Animal Medicines Australia. (2022). Pets in Australia: A national survey of pets and people AMAU008-Pet-Ownership 22-Report_v1.6_WEB.pdf. (animalmedicinesaustralia.org.au)

Avian influenza (bird flu)—DAFF. (2025, October 7). https://www.agriculture.gov.au/campaigns/birdflu

Jewitt, S., McClaughlin, E., Elliott, S., Smallman-Raynor, M., Clark, M., Dunham, S., & Tarlinton, R. (2024). Veterinarians’ knowledge and experience of avian influenza and perspectives on control measures in the UK. Veterinary Record, 195(5), e3713. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.3713

McClaughlin, E., Elliott, S., Jewitt, S., Smallman-Raynor, M., Dunham, S., Parnell, T., Clark, M., & Tarlinton, R. (2024). UK flockdown: A survey of smallscale poultry keepers and their understanding of governmental guidance on highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 224, 106117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2024.106117

Wildlife Health Australia. (2024a). Avian Influenza in wild birds in Australia. https://wildlifehealthaustralia.com.au/Portals/0/ResourceCentre/FactSheets/Avian/Avian_influenza_in_wild_birds_in_Australia.pdf

Wildlife Health Australia. (2024b). High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza and Wildlife- Advise for Veterinarians and Animal Health Professionals v3.3. https://wildlifehealthaustralia.com.au/Portals/0/Incidents/HPAI_Advice_for_veterinarians_and_animal_health_professionals.pdf

Wille, M. (2025). Avian Influenza Resources. Michelle Wille. https://www.michellewille.com/avian-influenza-resources/

Resources

A list of resources can be found on the AVA website at the HPAI webpage: 

https://www.ava.com.au/policy-advocacy/emergency-animal-diseases/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza/