The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu has left a devastating wake<\/a> in its journey around the globe, and now it has arrived at New Zealand shores.<\/p>\n At Pukekura, on the Otago Peninsula, home to the only mainland breeding colony of northern royal albatross\/toroa in the Southern Hemisphere, preparations have been underway for years.<\/p>\n But the questions of when and how the virus will arrive as well as what impact it will have on different native species create uncertainties.<\/p>\n World-wide spread<\/p>\n University of Otago virologist Professor Jemma Geoghegan says scientists have known about the H5N1 strain for about 30 years. But in 2020, a change in the genetic code created a subclade of H5N1 called 2.3.4.4b which started to spread more widely.<\/p>\n Rather than infecting only waterfowl or poultry the virus can now infect many different bird species, as well as other animals such as foxes, cows, sea lions and seals<\/a>.<\/p>\n BirdWatch Ireland fieldworker collecting dead birds at Lady’s Island Lake, Co. Wexford.<\/p>\n BirdWatch Ireland<\/p>\n The result has been major mortality events in some places and especially in animals that breed in colonies such as gannets, terns and elephant seals.<\/p>\n New Zealand’s geographical isolation helped delay the virus’s arrival, but with H5N1 now spreading in bird populations<\/a> in Australia the journey is much shorter for migratory species that move between the two countries.<\/p>\n And while we don’t know precisely how our endemic animals will react, the signs from overseas are not good says Jemma.<\/p>\n “It’s a bit tricky to completely understand what might happen here because of the very unique species. But what we can see is across the world… the breadth of species being infected by this virus. It doesn’t really paint a great picture of what we might see in New Zealand.<\/p>\n “This is potentially going to be a huge problem for us.”<\/p>\n Ireland’s experience of H5\/N1 bird flu: A conversation with Niall HatchOur Changing World<\/a>Bonus episode<\/p>\n The vaccination plan<\/p>\n One of the advantages of the slow arrival to New Zealand’s shores has been the time it has allowed for vaccines to be developed overseas and then trialed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Department of Conservation (DOC) developed a vaccination response plan with two phases, both of which have been approved by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).<\/p>\n In the first phase, vaccinations<\/a> of breeding adults from five highly-managed bird species began, including k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d<\/a>. The second phase extended the plan to a further 23 high-priority species. While some species have been decided upon, the full list has not been announced, to allow flexibility in DOC’s decision-making, said Conservation Minister Tama Potaka<\/a>.<\/p>\n DOC principal ranger Jim Watts – who also leads H5 bird flu preparedness for Coastal Otago – says toroa are included in the vaccination plan but it is not a straightforward process, nor is it a silver bullet.<\/p>\n “The vaccination requires two doses and that needs to occur three to four weeks apart. So, you need to be able to guarantee that you can recatch a bird.”<\/p>\n They don’t have the confidence they’d be able to give those two doses in time to the large chicks that are just about the fledge from the headland, Jim says, so they aim to vaccinate the new adult birds that will soon arrive for the next breeding season.<\/p>\n “And then it is about one month after the second dose where that bird becomes the most protected through the vaccine and then it has protections up to about six months out towards the year.”<\/p>\n The timing, therefore, is critical but complicated.<\/p>\n Because although bird flu has been detected here, as yet, there have been no mass mortality events, nor signs that it is spreading within colonies here. No-one knows when it will arrive at Pukekura.<\/p>\n So monitoring is a key part of the plan.<\/p>\n Planning for Pukekura<\/p>\n Pukekura hosts far more than albatrosses. The largest red-billed colony in the country also calls this headland home, as do Otago shags, t\u012bt\u012b, royal spoonbills, fur seals, koror\u0101 or little blue penguins and the occasional visiting sea lion. Several wildlife tourism operators<\/a> are based on the headland and others use it as a key tour stop. It’s estimated that it attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year.<\/p>\n H5\/N1 bird flu is here, what does this mean for our wildlife? <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/4L6OYYK_BIRDWA_3_JPG.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"Nadia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/4JJJUDG_IMG_0127_JPG.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/4PFKY25_image_crop_2456.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n