More than 4,500 calls have been made to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline since June as NSW continues its response to H5 bird flu.
More than 300 personnel have been working through the State Coordination Centre at the Orange Agricultural Institute, with teams covering operations, logistics, planning and communications.
NSW has now recorded 13 H5 bird flu events, predominantly around the Far South Coast.
Governments across Australia have agreed to use the term “event” when reporting H5 bird flu. An event refers to a single investigation and may involve one or more birds from the same location.
Bird flu has not been detected in commercial poultry flocks or captive birds anywhere in Australia, while the current risk to human health remains low.
The NSW Government is urging backyard chicken and captive bird owners to strengthen biosecurity measures, including keeping sheds and aviaries clean, providing clean drinking water, limiting contact with wild birds and isolating new birds before introducing them to existing flocks.
Owners are also advised to keep food and water inside sheltered areas where possible and use netting to reduce contact between captive and wild birds.
Anyone who encounters sick or dead birds or marine mammals should avoid touching or approaching them, record what they see and report it to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.
Surveillance testing for H5 bird flu in NSW is being conducted at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, with monitoring and testing continuing as authorities respond to further detections.
Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said backyard chicken and aviary owners should take precautionary action to reduce the risk of their birds becoming infected.
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