Western Australian poultry farms locked down as second wild bird dies from H5N1 bird flu

A Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development veterinarian tests a giant petrel for H5N1 bird flu. The bird was brought into care on 18 June from Wylie Bay beach in Western Australia. Photograph: Lori-Ann Shibish/Esperance Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary.

Poultry farms in Western Australia have gone into lockdown after the deadly H5N1 bird flu arrived on the country’s mainland, with tests confirming a second bird also carried the disease.

On Monday, the Ingham’s Group – Australia’s largest poultry producer – announced a “complete lockdown” in WA, despite no commercial detection of H5N1.