Billion-dollar industry 'watching, not panicking' over bird flu spread

Farmers prepare for potential spread after H5 bird flu detected in Queensland Wed 29 Jul 2026 at 8:58am In short: Queensland farmers are on alert after the state recorded its first H5 bird flu case, but consumers are being assured eggs and chicken remain safe to eat. The detection was in a migratory petrel washed up on Moreton Island last week. What's next? Authorities say there is no need for consumers to change their buying or eating habits. Queenslanders are being assured eggs and chicken remain safe to eat as the state's farmers prepare for the potential spread of H5 bird flu. The poultry industry remains free of the virus, but Queensland's chief veterinary officer Allison Crook has urged vigilance in the wake of the state's first confirmed detection in a migratory petrel washed up on Moreton Island. Queensland's poultry industry was worth an estimated $1.08 billion in 2023–24. About 85 per cent of the state's egg production comes from the Darling Downs, 300 kilometres west of Brisbane, which is also home to major chicken-meat production and processing. While there was no need for consumers to change their eating habits, panic-buy poultry products or avoid chicken and eggs, farmers including Nick Holliday said they were preparing for the virus well before Australia's first detection. Are chicken and eggs at risk? Bird flu, or avian influenza, naturally circulates among wild birds and most strains cause little or no illness. The H5 strain now being detected in Australia is highly pathogenic, which means it causes severe disease and death in infected birds. The risk to human health is considered low. Dr Crook had previously described a Queensland detection as a matter of "when, not if." For Mr Holliday, who produces eggs near Nanango in the South Burnett, the response was less about panic and more about continuing the biosecurity practices his farm already relied on. "It has heightened our awareness, but biosecurity is important to our farm every day of the year, not just when these detections happen," he said. "We're watching it closely, but we're certainly not panicking yet." Mr Holliday said the bigger concern was whether the virus could establish itself in native bird populations that lived in Australia year-round. Producers are being urged to maintain strict biosecurity and keep domestic birds separated from wild ones wherever possible, but on Mr Holliday's pasture-raised egg farm, that was difficult to do. "In our pasture-raised set-up, our birds are out on grass surrounded by electric netting; they roost and lay their eggs in a mobile shed caravan arrangement," he said. "We don't have any capacity to lock up birds, so it's just not an option for us … so that will be interesting. "The rubber really hits the road when there is transmission into commercial bird flocks from wild migratory birds." An outbreak in commercial flocks could disrupt food supplies, processing, transport and supermarket shelves. University of Queensland bird ecologist Elize Ng said the detections were consistent with expectations, with seabirds moving north from sub-Antarctic islands likely bringing the virus to Australia's coastline. The concern now was whether it could move from those seabirds into coastal populations and eventually inland, where large gatherings of birds could suffer mass mortality if the species lacked resistance. "In areas where they have been spread, it's always been mass mortality if the species is not already resistant to it,"Dr Ng said. Poultry fanciers on guard Backyard poultry owners are being urged to keep birds away from wild ones, protect feed and water from contamination, and maintain good hygiene when handling birds or eggs. The advice comes as one of the state's biggest gatherings of birds gets underway next week, with the Royal Queensland Show, or Ekka, going ahead as planned. Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA) chief executive Brendan Christou said the poultry competition would proceed as normal, with Biosecurity Queensland providing advice on how to mitigate risks. "Each year, in line with our strict biosecurity protocols, all birds entered at the Ekka competition must be declared disease-free and are checked by our veterinary team," he said. Queensland authorities say chicken meat and eggs remain safe, with no need to change buying or eating habits. If bird flu enters a commercial flock, affected birds are culled rather than treated, so any consumer impact would come through supply and availability, not food safety. Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise chief executive Jo Sheppard, a former Queensland Farmers' Federation chief executive, said the industry's importance extended well beyond the farm gate. "Chicken meat is now the most consumed meat in Australia, and eggs, of course, are a really important source of protein for all families," she said. What should Queenslanders do? The advice is to carry on as normal, but do not touch sick or dead wild birds. Anyone who finds one should keep children and pets away, avoid handling it and report it to authorities. For now, Queensland's first H5 detection remains a wild bird case, not a poultry outbreak. The big question is no longer whether the virus will reach the state, but whether it can be kept out of its poultry farms.