Inghams Group on Monday implemented a complete lockdown across all of its Western Australian farms and processing operations after Australia reported a second case of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu.
The case was detected in Esperance, Western Australia, as a northern giant petrel, a migratory sea bird, on a remote beach tested positive for bird flu, after a brown skua case on Saturday. These are the first reported cases of the flu on mainland Australia.
The Australian government has then vowed to rein in the spread of the virus.
Inghams’ breeder farms and grower networks are located in the Muchea, Gingin and Mogumber regions, north of Perth, nearly 690–770 kilometres from Esperance.
No cases have been found in the company’s commercial poultry, and it continues to distribute to the Australian market.
The company said it has moved to a “heightened state of biosecurity vigilance” to mitigate any potential risks, and is seeking a housing order from the Australian Government’s chief veterinary officer to allow its Western Australian free-range poultry to be kept indoors.
Shares of the company slumped as much as 13.8 per cent to $1.810, in their worst session since February 20, and hit their lowest in more than a month.
- Reporting by Keshav Singh Chundawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, of Reuters.
