Alarm raised over bird flu threat to scavenger animals the Tasmanian devil and eagles

The spread of a variant of bird flu could be ‘catastrophic’ to the Tasmanian devil and eagles if it reaches Australia. Here’s why.

Tasmanian devil. Picture: Satheesh Rajh Rajagopalan

Australia’s chief vet has issued a stark warning that the spread of H5N1 Bird Flu to Australia could be “catastrophic” for Tasmania’s threatened devil and eagle populations — both scavenger species which feed on the corpses of dead wildlife.

The new strain of bird flu has spread around the globe but has yet to make it to Australia, which has significant protections in being an Island state. Earlier this year H5N1 was detected in Antarctica, making Australia the only continent in the world now free of the virus.

However with the spring migration of shorebirds and seabirds from the northern hemisphere the risk of the disease breaching Australia’s coastal barriers is getting stronger.

At a recent stakeholders meeting Commonwealth Chief Veterinary Officer Beth Cookson singled out Tasmanian devils and eagles as species of particular concern if the virus reaches Australia, saying the impact could be “devastating”.

Tasmanian eagles are classified as “threatened” while Tasmanian devils are on the “endangered” list, meaning their population is in active decline.

Tasmanian devil. Picture: Chris Fithall

A wedge-tailed eagle

Scavengers and predators such as devils and eagles are at heightened risk of infection due to their diet consisting of dead animals which may still be harbouring infection.

Birds and animals infected by H5N1 can remain contagious for weeks.

Advocacy Director of the Invasive Species Council Jack Hough said devils are already being pushed “to the brink of extinction” by a multitude of threats including land cleaning, facial tumour, mining, logging and road deaths.

“The introduction of this deadly strain of bird flu could be catastrophic, derailing recovery efforts, reducing genetic diversity and threatening their survival,” Mr Hough said in a statement.

Australian Avian experts have been sounding the alarm on bird flu for months now, with urgent calls for the government to protect Australia’s unique and endemic wildlife species.

But Mr Hough says government preparedness has been paltry, with just over $500,000 currently allocated to the issue, and detailed planning non-existent.

“Potential options to reduce death rates include carcass removal, vaccination of at-risk animal populations and ensuring disturbance from tourism and hunting is prevented,” Mr Hough said.

“We are also concerned that comprehensive identification of priority at-risk wildlife and sites, and the development of response plans for these, has not yet occurred. There are no detailed plans we are aware of specifically to reduce deaths in Tassie devils, eagles, black swans, sea lions or other species.”

Tasmanian devil. Picture: Shane Lin

H5N1 is highly contagious and has already had significant impacts around the globe.

In South America the virus is responsible for wiping out 40 per cent of the Peruvian pelican population, while in the UK 30 per cent of the country’s breeding population of roseate terns, great skua and gannets have been killed.

Since arriving in Antarctica, mass mortality events have been observed in penguin and skua populations.

Humans can become infected with the virus by touching infected animals, but that scenario has so far proven extremely rare.

However, a recent cluster of bird-flu infections in the US state of Missouri which has grown to eight people is being carefully monitored by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the outbreak “may be the first example of person to transmission”, the New York Times reported on Friday.

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