Two months after H5N1 bird flu arrived on Australian shores, the country has chosen intervention over observation — launching a vaccination campaign for captive native birds before the virus can deepen its hold. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins announced the program this week, with rollout expected within days to weeks, targeting priority species in zoos, wildlife facilities, and breeding programs. The decision reflects a quiet urgency: Australia's native avifauna, much of it found nowhere else on Earth, carries a fragility that a virus of H5N1's lethality could exploit with irreversible con