00:02Free-range chooks put back in the cage for their own protection.
00:06That's the advice from the nation's top veterinarian,
00:09after two birds were sent for testing 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.
00:33The test results of a giant petrel found on the New South Wales mid-north coast yesterday
00:38now confirmed as the H5 strain of the virus.
00:42It's inevitable. It's in poultry flocks all around the world.
00:47We're the last continent to get it.
00:48The positive test in New South Wales means the virus is closing in
00:52on the largest egg and chicken meat market.
00:55The same species of bird was also found in Perth's north.
00:59Four positive cases have already been confirmed in this state.
01:04Industry stakeholders say they're prepared, but it's not just poultry that's at risk.
01:09It's going to heavily impact the wild populations
01:12and the endangered populations we have around Australia as well on the coast.
01:15trying to fend off outbreak for as long as possible.
01:18So...
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