Victorian Bird Flu Response Criticized as 'Scandal' by Border Lawyer

A retired environmental lawyer living near the Victoria-South Australia border has strongly criticized the Victorian government's response to a bird flu outbreak, calling it a "scandal." Warwick Biggs, a resident of Nelson, Victoria, expressed deep distress over the mass death of birds in the area, with hundreds of carcasses littering the beaches.

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I've been into birds all my life and it's very upsetting for me to see what is happening.

Mr. Biggs, who has a lifelong passion for birds, observes that the local waters, part of the Glenelg Estuary and Discovery Bay Ramsar site, a habitat for numerous waterbird species, including endangered ones, are increasingly devoid of live birds. "Each morning, there are less and less birds surviving and the beach is just covered in hundreds and hundreds of corpses," he stated, noting the presence of dead pelicans, magpies, and ravens presumed to have succumbed to the H5N1 strain of bird flu.

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Each morning, there are less and less birds surviving and the beach is just covered in hundreds and hundreds of corpses.

He contrasts this situation with the neighboring state of South Australia, where government staff are actively collecting dead birds to prevent the virus's spread. "The government is sitting there saying there's nothing they can do," Mr. Biggs said, dismissing this as "absolute rubbish." He argues that actions like clearing dead birds to prevent further transmission are feasible and necessary.

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The government is sitting there saying there's nothing they can do.

Ecologist Cassie Hlava, also a resident of Nelson, echoed these concerns, estimating that at least 400 bird carcasses have accumulated at the Glenelg River mouth. She noted that South Australia has deployed dedicated teams for carcass collection and the humane euthanasia of sick birds, a response she finds lacking in Victoria. "On our side of the border, which is just three kilometres away, we haven't seen any response," she said, highlighting the disparity in government action.

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That's absolute rubbish, there's a lot of things that could be done, [like] clearing up the dead birds so that other birds don't catch it from them.