Andrew Hoggard, Minister for Biosecurity, says new regulations will require poultry operators with 100 or more birds to have a biosecurity plan covering how they manage disease risk. He says H5N1 will establish itself in wild birds.

“This is not something we can eradicate, this is not something we can remove,” he says

“It’s something we have to learn how to live with.”

He says there is no eradication-style compensation as there was for Mycoplasma bovis, because that scheme aimed to remove the disease.

Much of the approach is drawn from how the UK, US and France have managed outbreaks. For backyard flocks, he says the key is blocking contact with wild birds.

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