On Aug. 11, 2026, the Australian Associated Press reported Australia faces the prospect of devastating animal mass mortalities despite the rollout of a bird flu vaccine, a peak body warns.

One in five mammal and bird species in Australia are on a bird flu “doom list” published by the federal environment department, Invasive Species Council chief executive Jack Gough said on Tuesday. “We have a tsunami about to break over them from this H5N1 bird flu,” he said. “We are not going to be able to stop bird flu ripping through our wildlife populations and that’s going to be devastating”.

Mr Gough raised the alarm at Parliament House and said the federal government was not prepared, hours after the agriculture minister announced the rollout of a vaccine to curb the deadly virus.

There will be 1500 vaccine vials – worth about $2 million – rolled out in a bid to stop the further spread of the strain, Julie Collins said.

“The government has acknowledged – if this bird flu gets in, we’re looking at an extinction-level event,” he said in relation to five individual species. “Last week, we had the release of a list that said one in five of our native wildlife, mammals and birds, is directly threatened by this at a high to extreme level.

Influenza vaccination expert Mohammed Alsharifi said the rollout of the immunisation would be crucial. “It’s the right approach if we want to keep or conserve those species, because the virus is very lethal and we’ve seen dead animals around in the news everywhere,” the Adelaide University associate professor said. “We need to remember the virus may mutate. But at least if we have good immunity against the clade (variety) of the virus that’s circulating, then it will be the right approach.”

States and territories will be responsible for providing the federal government with its shortlist of priority animals requiring vaccination.