Tasmania begins bird flu vaccinations for critically endangered parrots

Tasmania has begun vaccinating captive orange-bellied parrots against H5 bird flu, adding a new layer of protection for one of Australia’s rarest birds before its summer breeding season.

The staged program is expected to cover about 350 parrots at a conservation breeding facility outside Hobart. Each is due to receive two doses by February. An initial group of up to 50 birds will be closely monitored, including for any effect on fertility, before officials decide how to proceed with the remainder. No adverse effects are expected, but researchers say evidence on H5 in Australian parrots is limited.

Some vaccinated juveniles are intended for annual release in Tasmania’s south-west, where they can reinforce a wild population estimated at fewer than 100. That population had fallen to only 17 birds in 2016. The species breeds in Tasmania and migrates to coastal Victoria and South Australia for winter, while a loss of genetic diversity may leave it especially vulnerable to disease.

The effort has become urgent as H5 detections spread across Tasmania, including one in a tern near the breeding facility. Authorities say no mass bird deaths or poultry-industry detections have been reported in the state. They continue to ask the public to avoid sick or dead birds and report sightings, which have helped track the virus.