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The Department of Conservation has raised its alert level in the Wairarapa following the confirmation of New Zealand’s second H5 avian influenza case in a kāhu (swamp harrier).
The higher alert status means DOC staff will continue normal operations while taking additional precautions in the field, including carrying personal protective equipment and preparing to activate site response plans if the virus spreads among native wildlife.
Deputy director-general Cat Wilson says regional teams have been briefed and are ready to support the Ministry for Primary Industries with increased surveillance and reporting.
“We’re asking operators and people who are out on public conservation land to be alert and keep an eye out for any signs of bird flu.”
Cat says one of the clearest indicators is the sudden death of multiple birds in one location. Seabirds, scavengers such as kāhu and black-backed gulls, and mammalian predators that feed on dead birds are considered higher-risk species.
DOC’s vaccination programme for threatened native birds is continuing, with 81 of around 300 birds now having received their first vaccine dose. The programme includes kākāpō, takahē, tūturuatu/shore plover, kakī/black stilt, kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeet and pateke/brown teal.
