Isn’t this just about sick birds? If only it was. H5 avian influenza is a deadly and highly transmissible form of avian influenza. For the past 5 years, this current outbreak has been decimating bird and mammal populations worldwide. Unfortunately, it has now arrived on our shores. It has the potential to affect our native birds and mammals, cultural practices for Indigenous Australians, our companion animals (including cats and dogs), and our agricultural industries.

Significant exotic animal disease outbreaks, like avian influenza, have a significant interconnected, systemic, and cascading effect that can impact individuals and communities, economies, and the natural environment.

Humans may gain companionship, emotional support, identity, physical independence and a sense of purpose from their relationships with animals. Image: Thomas Iverson/Unsplash

I recall listening many years ago to the coordinator of the response to Newcastle’s disease in poultry farms in Mangrove Mountain in NSW and the personal impact upon him, and the community. Not long after this, we were also hearing about the individual and community impacts of the Foot and Mouth Outbreak in the UK in 2001.

As we document in the Planning for Animals Handbook, humans have varying attachments to and dependencies on, animals. Animals play an important role in the lives of many Australians. Humans may gain companionship, emotional support, identity, physical independence and a sense of purpose from their relationships with animals. This bond has been shown to have positive effects on physical and mental health by reducing stress, improving mood, and increasing social connectedness. Australia’s native wildlife species are iconic, often unique to the continent and of cultural significance to many people. In addition to their cultural and intrinsic value, native wildlife is intricately linked to the health and continuity of ecosystems and to the economy through tourism and the flow-on effects to agriculture and trade.

Totem animals hold profound significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, serving as symbolic connections to the spirit and natural world and embodying ancestral wisdom. Children often turn to their companion animals for comfort, reassurance and emotional support when feeling anger, sadness, or happiness. Animals may form a significant part of children’s lives at home, through recreation and in school. The bond is important for children and young people’s development.

Ecological grief at the loss of animals is a very real phenomena, as Chloe Watfern and Claudia Benham write in their Conversation article ‘I feel deep sadness about bird flu and environmental loss. Is this normal?’

The 2019-20 bushfires resulted in the loss or displacement of nearly 3 billion native animals. This prompted global media coverage and national and international outpouring of grief. The South Australian Harmful Algal Bloom also saw the significant loss of marine wildlife, birds, and animals, causing mental health distress in coastal communities.  

Australia has well-tested and practiced arrangements for managing exotic animal diseases, through AUSVETPLAN. These are enacted, and states and territories are focused on managing the response to outbreak. For those whose job it is to think about community impacts, the outbreak may manifest in several ways:

• Increase in mental health distress and anxiety from the loss of wildlife, totems, companion animals, and stock, particularly within a context of other stressors, such as the changing climate, geopolitical uncertainty, economic pressures, and eroding social cohesion.
• Challenges with livelihoods, and the flow of effects of a downturn in income, with the loss farming stock, and tourism opportunities.
• Challenges to community connection, cohesion and inclusion, where biosecurity measures are applied to poultry and other livestock properties causing isolation and dislocation from community.

While this is a novel event, the National Principles for Recovery can be used to guide programming support:

• Understand the context: successful recovery is based on an understanding of the community context, with each community having its own history, values, and dynamics. Using a Capacity and Vulnerability Assessment tool will help understand the systemic connections.
• Recognise complexity: successful recovery is responsive to the complex and evolving nature of disasters and their impacts on communities, including compounding, cascading and concurrent events. Understanding the intersection between the natural environment, economic environment, and social environment will be important in understanding how avian influenza will affect communities
• Use community-centred approaches: successful recovery is community-centred, responsive and flexible, engaging with community and supporting them to move forward, with shared responsibilities. Using existing local governance and other arrangements will help being the community needs to the centre of considerations.
• Coordinate all activities: successful recovery requires a planned, coordinated and adaptive approach, between community and partner agencies, based on continuing assessment of impacts and needs. Ensure all community agencies are involved in briefing and planning. Ensure that wildlife support agencies are part of local planning, as well as community support agencies.
• Communicate effectively: successful recovery is built on effective communication between the affected community and other partners. Avian influenza is already the subject of mis and disinformation activities.
• Recognise and build capacity: successful recovery recognises, supports and builds on individual, community and organisational capacity and resilience. Ensure agencies understand exotic animal diseases, and the psychosocial impacts of disaster.

For up-to-date information on avian influenza, visit the Australian Government's Bird flu (avian influenza) webpage.

For guidance on emergency planning, refer to the AIDR Emergency Planning Handbook.