{"id":790291,"date":"2026-07-10T00:38:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T00:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/790291\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T00:38:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T00:38:17","slug":"wa-wildlife-carers-lacking-resources-at-frontline-of-states-bird-flu-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/790291\/","title":{"rendered":"WA wildlife carers lacking resources at frontline of state’s bird flu response"},"content":{"rendered":"

Volunteer wildlife carers say the West Australian government has let them down as they front the state’s response to the deadly H5 bird flu, with a lack of protective clothing and funds putting them and animals at risk.<\/p>\n

There are currently eight confirmed cases of avian influenza in Australia, with the first case found in the state’s Great Southern region.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, WA recorded two new suspected H5 cases in dead petrels found in the Perth metro area and north of Geraldton.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A southern giant petrel is the second bird to test positive in a preliminary test for avian influenza. (Supplied: Lori-Ann Shibish\/Esperance Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary)<\/p>\n

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions has said that for now, PPE was only being supplied to wildlife carers taking part in surveillance sampling or carcass collection.<\/p>\n

“In the longer term, PPE will be made available to wildlife organisations if the disease spreads, on a risk assessment basis,” they said.<\/p>\n

Wildlife groups, however, want protective equipment distributed more widely.<\/p>\n

Calls for critical resources<\/p>\n

A week ago, WA’s Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis insisted PPE had been allocated to wildlife carers.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Wildlife carers say they are working hard to prevent the deadly flu strain from making its way into threatened native bird populations. (ABC South West: Madigan Landry)<\/p>\n

ABC South West spoke with several major wildlife care organisations that all said no equipment had been provided.<\/p>\n

WA Seabird Rescue volunteer Rachel Olsen said government resources were critical to managing bird flu in wild birds.<\/p>\n

“We need to set up external facilities, we need to have quarantine, we need to have PPE, we need to be adequately resourced,” she said.\"A<\/p>\n

Rachel Olsen says if the state government plans to rely on wildlife carers, it should fund them appropriately.\u00a0 (Supplied.)<\/p>\n

“All of our wildlife rehabilitation hospitals in Western Australia are completely funded through donations and fundraising, and there is no government funding for any of them.<\/p>\n

“[The state government] have openly said to us that they’re planning on relying on the existing infrastructure with these volunteer groups, then they need to fund them so that they can operate safely.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0The wildlife carers say required PPE includes:<\/p>\n

N95 or P2 maskrubber glovesPVC gloveswater-resistant gownsboot covers\/gum bootshair coversgoggles\/face shields\"A<\/p>\n

Carers say PPE supplies are running low as they ramp up infection risk protocols in the wake of H5 bird flu in WA. (ABC South West: Madigan Landry)<\/p>\n

Ms Olsen said it was not clear how wildlife carers could access resources.<\/p>\n

“There’s been a really big breakdown in communication between agencies,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It’s really, really disappointing.”<\/p>\n

‘Heartbreaking’ suffering<\/p>\n

Across the South West, many private veterinary clinics no longer treated wild birds brought in by members of the public and wildlife volunteers.<\/p>\n

Suzanne Strapp, president of major South West wildlife organisation FAWNA, said this often meant wild birds were being left to suffer.<\/p>\n

“To see animals wait all day to die in pain is heartbreaking and it’s unacceptable,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Whether it’s euthanasia or whether it’s a treatment plan for that animal, we need it swiftly. You’d expect that for your golden retriever.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Wildlife carers say they have been left to foot the bill for enacting proper bird flu infection risk protocols. (ABC South West: Madigan Landry)<\/p>\n

Last week, FAWNA rescued a wedge-tailed eagle from a property in Brookhampton, 208 kilometres south of Perth.<\/p>\n

Wedge-tailed eagles are Australia’s largest bird of prey and are a protected species, but Ms Strapp said she struggled to find a vet who would perform an X-ray on the raptor’s legs.<\/p>\n

“It seems to be a soft tissue injury, which we wouldn’t have known,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We would have just had to assume they had a broken foot, and, in an eagle, it is the end.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Without an appropriate quarantine facility in the region, the injured eagle is being kept in a makeshift enclosure. (ABC South West: Madigan Landry)<\/p>\n

Ms Strapp said she did not blame vets for shutting off services.<\/p>\n

“The vets aren’t being selfish here, they are being serious,” she said.<\/p>\n

“But it leaves us in the South West, where we don’t have a wildlife hospital \u2026 with nowhere to take our birds.”<\/p>\n

\"Background<\/p>\n

Suzanne Strapp tends to the injured eagle inside its makeshift quarantine enclosure. (ABC South West: Madigan Landry)<\/p>\n

The ABC has contacted the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), which is also managing influenza resources, for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Volunteer wildlife carers say the West Australian government has let them down as they front the state’s response…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":790292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,1845,359412,137,372519,372523,372521,372524,372518,372522,372520],"class_list":["post-790291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bird-flu","tag-h5-bird-flu","tag-health","tag-how-to-protect-yourself-from-bird-flu","tag-perth-wildlife-carer","tag-perth-wildlife-hospital-h5-bird-flu","tag-ppe","tag-ppe-bird-flu","tag-wildlife-bird-flu","tag-wildlife-carers-in-south-west"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}