A new pet register has been created in Tasmania to help authorities strengthen their response to H5 bird flu.
The form is optional and available to all bird owners, whether they keep exotic parrots, backyard chooks, or native species like emus or kookaburras.
The register includes space for details about where and how the bird is housed, and takes about five minutes to complete.
Once a pet is added, owners will receive timely advice from Biosecurity Tasmania on the virus’s spread and risk.
As the project was announced last week, State Controller Justin Helmich said more detections were expected in new areas of the state.
“The information provided through this voluntary registration will help us communicate quickly with owners in areas where there are further detections, and support disease tracing if an outbreak occurs,” he said.
All bird owners are encouraged to register their pets, whether they be smaller caged birds, backyard chooks or native species.
(Getty)Maps helping Aussies track the spread of H5
Separately, Tasmania has launched an online dashboard featuring an interactive map to help both residents and visitors track the virus’s spread.
Users can zoom in to see details of where detections have occurred, but to protect privacy, individual properties are not included.
It is updated in real time and includes all cases from the last 14 days.
Victoria also has a map of H5 avian influenza detections.
(Agriculture Victoria)
In Victoria, authorities have created a similar map that includes all confirmed events, dating back to the state’s first detection in July.
It shows the virus has been concentrated in the southwest coast, but has also been detected in Melbourne and inland areas of the state. Data is limited to postcodes rather than suburbs and species categories.
South Australia also has a map which includes affected species, postcode, test result status, and the date of the laboratory result.
South Australia has a map of positive H5 avian influenza detections.
(Government of South Australia)New cases detected in NSW
The federal database of bird flu events was last updated on Friday. At the time, there were 521 across Australia, with 286 in South Australia, 162 in Victoria, and 36 in Tasmania.
Over the weekend, there were new detections in NSW, including in Woy Woy on the Central Coast and Bulli on the South Coast.
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Anyone who sees sick or dead birds or mammals is urged to avoid contact, record what they see, and report it via the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline – 1800 675 888.
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