From The Saturday Paper, 27 June 2026:
It’s the moment Australian wildlife researchers and rescuers, infectious disease specialists, veterinarians, poultry and dairy farmers, zoos and aquariums and governments at all levels have been dreading since 2021.
On June 14, a sick bird washed up on an isolated beach near Esperance in Western Australia. It was discovered by chance by veterinarian Dr Toni Howlett, who happened to be walking there with a friend and took the bird in for care. The brown skua later tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1. Shortly after, another sick bird – a northern giant petrel – was found in the same area and also returned a positive test. A third WA case turned up on a beach near Quindalup, and one on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula.
For several years now, this strain of avian influenza virus has been wreaking destruction on populations of birds and marine mammals around the world. Scientists have reported once-heaving colonies of seals and sea lions all but vanished and carcasses of dead pelicans and seabirds dotted across beaches that used to be alive with a cacophony of squawking, chattering birdlife. Read more (paywall).
Bianca Nogrady 