00:02Free-range chooks put back in the cage for their own protection.
00:07That's the advice from the nation's top veterinarian
00:10after two birds were found suspected of having H5N1 bird flu.
00:15If you have flocks that are allowed outside, which is fantastic for kept birds,
00:20it actually puts them at a much higher risk of disease.
00:23It would probably finish my business because they'll cull everything on the farm.
00:28For at least the next two weeks, farmers can still market their chickens and eggs as free-range.
00:34It comes as two states wait to confirm if wild birds found test positive to the deadly virus.
00:40The test results of a giant petrol found on the New South Wales mid-north coast yesterday have yet to
00:46come back.
00:47It's inevitable. It's in poultry flocks all around the world. We're the last continent to get it.
00:53A confirmed positive in New South Wales would mean the virus is closing in on the largest egg and chicken
00:59meat market.
01:00The same species of bird was also found in Perth's north.
01:04Four positive cases have already been confirmed in the state.
01:08When the H7 strain of bird flu was detected two years ago, around two million birds had to be culled.
01:15The H5 strain is considered more deadly, and there's concerns of poultry contamination could lead to chicken and egg shortages
01:23in supermarkets.
01:24But industry stakeholders say they're more prepared this time around.
01:28And it's not just poultry that's at risk.
01:31It's going to heavily impact the wild populations and the endangered populations we have around Australia as well on the
01:36coast.
01:37Trying to fend off outbreak for as long as possible.
01:45The H5 A6.
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