The recent discovery of avian influenza in the Northern Hemisphere has heightened concerns over the possible impact of an outbreak on the local poultry industry, worth over $180 million in annual revenues.
The recent discovery of avian influenza in the Northern Hemisphere has heightened concerns over the possible impact of an outbreak on the local poultry industry, worth over $180 million in annual revenues.
The last reported case of an avian flu in Australia was in 1997 in Tamworth, New South Wales, with previous outbreaks in commercial poultry farms in Victoria (1976, 1985 and 1992) and Queensland (1994). It was claimed these outbreaks were due to migratory birds.
But there is growing industry concern that a more risky entry point for the virus is via the illegal importation of birds.
Australian Customs and Quarantine figures from last year show that, in the 12 months to June 2004, 1.3 tonnes of poultry products, including eggs and feathers, were seized originating from countries affected by avian influenza. The Australian Customs Service investigated 33 smuggling cases in the first eight months of this year compared with 26 for all of 2004.
Western Australian Poultry Cooperative technical services director Javed Hayat said the state’s poultry industry would be devastated by an outbreak of the virus.
He said it would be difficult for the industry to recover in the current climate with potentially nation-wide ramifications.
Estimates of the revenues generated by WA’s egg industry are put at more than $62 million a year, 20 per cent of which comes from international exports, according to Mr Hayat.
The meat side of the industry produces around 45 million birds at an average size of 2.2kg each every year, WA Broiler Growers Association president Len Brajkovich said. At about $1.20 a kilo, this translates to about $119 million in revenues to the poultry meat industry, he said.
There been several reports of the avian flu virus (H5N1) in Asia this year, with a recent outbreak in Turkey, where authorities have reacted by culling millions of birds to eradicate the virus.
Reflecting the urgency of the situation and Australia’s proximity to outbreaks, the Federal Government last week announced an additional $10 million contribution to the Indonesian government to help stop the virus from spreading in Indonesia. Previously $5.5 million had been provided.
Milne AgriGroup, owner of Mt Barker Free Range, one of the state’s largest poultry groups, recently announced plans to expand its chicken business by 25 per cent.
Despite exclusively supplying to domestic markets, Mt Barker manager Mark Rintool said a flu outbreak at the group’s operations would probably spell the end for the company and that an outbreak elsewhere in the country would make it much harder to do business.
Mr Rintool said the company was in regular contact with flu experts on a monthly basis to keep up to date with the most recent developments and advice about the virus.
Recently in WA for the Perth Royal Show, hobby chicken breeding expert Jim Finger, who runs a 25-year-old Melbourne-based poultry equipment supply company called Bellsouth, said he has recently dealt with people wanting information on restricted chicken breeds in Australia, such as the Marans.
“We need codes of conduct of hobby poultry in particular with regards to housing, cleanliness, and management standards,” Mr Finger said.
A federal Department of Agriculture spokesman said the was no definitive proof as to how the virus entered Australia in the previous cases, but there were indications that it had been passed on by wild birds such as waterfowls and ducks.
