‘We need to be prepared’: Bird advocates prepare for deadly bird flu

Saturday, 18 July 2026

Bird advocates in South Canterbury and North Otago are putting measures in place to protect their charges from the deadly bird flu, with one organisation aiming to add a protective roof to its new breeding facility.

On Wednesday, the country’s first case of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 strain, commonly known as bird flu, was confirmed.

The virus, detected in a sick brown skua found on a Wellington beach on July 10, prompted the Department of Conservation (DOC) to start vaccinating core breeding populations of five of New Zealand’s most threatened birds.

In Timaru, NZ Raptor Trust rescue and rehab coordinator Angie Tidy said they were also concerned about the bird flu and had been planning for its potential arrival for some time.

“We need to be prepared to keep these birds safe,” Tidy said.

“If we don’t protect the raptors in the wild from the flu, the only remaining birds would be the ones in captivity.”

On Sunday, the trust marked its 10th anniversary and officially opened its new $250,000 falcon breeding facility, housing one of only three permitted falcon breeding programmes in New Zealand.

Tidy said the roof of the new facility urgently needed a layer of Clearlite to protect the raptors from infection and were seeking donations.

“We are near the coast and [Washdyke] lagoon and any infected birds flying over the facility could poop into the enclosure and spread the bird flu,” she said.

Tidy said the trust had also stocked up on personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks, gloves and eye protection, and stronger disinfectants.

“We also have manuals and policies in place for protecting the raptors and we will soon be starting to train our volunteers,” she said.

Training would cover the use of PPE, identifying symptoms in the birds, handling the raptors with caution, and keeping pets away from bird flu hotspots.

Tidy also warned the trust might have to suspend the admission of new birds and establish an off-site quarantine facility.

“We have reached out to our local DOC office to possibly get our birds vaccinated but we are still waiting to hear back,” she said.

The public could play a part by staying away from bird flu hotspots and following advice from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and DOC.

Zena Guthrie, of Zena’s South Canterbury Bird Rescue, said her biggest concern was how many birds would be left suffering.

“At the moment, the bird flu was found in a sea bird and they would be the most affected for a start.”

Guthrie said she was prepared with PPE, an isolation area and disinfectants, but was looking to stock up on meat medallions and called on the community for donations.

She asked people to first send videos of any sea birds needing help and did not have an obvious injury so she could assess symptoms before agreeing to take them in.

If it was the flu, she would ask people to contact MPI.

Further south, Ōamaru Penguins had also introduced biosecurity measures at its research, conservation and tourism facility to protect the 700 kororā/little penguins in its care.

Science and environmental manager Dr Philippa Agnew said foot wash stations had been installed at the entrances to both the penguin colony building and the seal viewing area.

“We kindly ask everyone visiting these areas to use the foot wash stations,” Agnew said.

“This simple biosecurity measure helps reduce the risk of inadvertently moving disease into sensitive wildlife habitat.”

Agnew said the facility had long been prepared for the potential threat from HPAI entering New Zealand, enabling it to quickly introduce the biosecurity measures in consultation with DOC and MPI.

She said the rehabilitation facility remained operational, and it would continue responding to reports of sick or injured little penguins requiring assistance.

“We also ask our community to keep an eye out for unusual wildlife mortality and report it according to MPI guidance.

“Thank you for helping us protect Ōamaru's incredible wildlife.”

She said the local kororā colony was thriving as a result of decades of effort to preserve and protect the threatened species.

“We have seen penguin numbers grow thanks to careful conservation efforts,” she said.

“It’s hugely important to protect our little penguins and the level of biosecurity threat to the colony will be actively monitored,” she said.