Residents picking up dead birds and putting them in bins has prompted a Moyne Shire councillor to question the state government’s response to the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in regional areas.
What happened? Councillor Karen Foster raised concerns about the outbreak during Monday’s meeting, asking CEO Mark Eversteyn: “is there anything that we could do as a council to implore [the government] to step in and take a more active role so that we don't end up with bags and bags of birds or even worse, unbagged birds turning up in our landfills and in our regional landfill?”
She described the outbreak as “a tragedy that’s unfolding right along our coastline”.
“It’s terrible to see lots of sick and dying birds,” she told the meeting. “I'm worried at the moment because I've seen people picking up birds and putting them into our rubbish bins.”
Why it matters: The councillor said she was concerned the issue could increasingly fall to the council if residents keep disposing of dead birds into landfill bins.
“I feel a bit frustrated that the state government hasn't stepped in in a more meaningful way,” she said.
What the council is doing: The CEO said Moyne council would continue raising its concerns during regular meetings with Agriculture Victoria and the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action, which are leading the state response.
Everteyn said it was important for there to be one clear source of information sharing the latest bird flu information and rules.
“Other councils are taking a similar approach, so we will continue to be guided by Agriculture Victoria and DEECA in what the requirements are,” he said.
The current direction: Infrastructure director Liam Arnott said current state advice was to leave birds in place where possible, unless there was a safety issue or the bird was a listed species such as a penguin, pelican or bird of prey.