So far, so good – no new farms found with bird flu

The eradication efforts involved more than 5,000 separate activities, including property visits and the collection of dead birds, in addition to the testing of more than 16,300 samples.

Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Graeme Cooke said the housing requirements also meant birds near the infected properties had to remain in their enclosures to prevent contact with wild birds.

“We recognise that it is not always easy to accommodate birds in these areas and we thank bird owners for their vital support in preventing the spread of this disease as the risk of the disease remains,” he said.

The update comes after eight farms in Victoria, two in NSW and one in the ACT were forced to close in a bid to contain the spread of bird flu.

The bird flu outbreak has left supermarket shelves empty and egg rationing by retailers. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

More than a million chickens and ducks have been killed due to the outbreaks.

Contaminated premises continue to be disinfected and the risk of infection is eliminated.

The outbreaks prompted Woolworths to limit customers in NSW, ACT and Victoria to two cartons of eggs since last month, while Coles introduced a similar policy earlier in June.

McDonald’s was also forced to shorten its breakfast hours, which now temporarily end at 10:30 a.m., instead of noon.

Last month, the Melbourne Royal Show announced that the 2024 poultry competition would be postponed due to the outbreaks.

In 2023, more than 1,200 chickens, ducks and turkeys took part in the competition.