Across Australia, a disease carried on the wing is quietly dismantling the infrastructure of compassion that catches injured animals when the world harms them. As H5 bird flu spreads through wild bird populations — reaching Tasmania's shores and pressuring clinics in Western Australia to close their doors to wildlife — the creatures most vulnerable to human environments now find themselves without recourse. More than 21,000 emergency calls mark the scale of the disruption, but the deeper wound is systemic: when the systems of care retreat, suffering does not.
Veterinary clinics refuse wildlife treatment as H5 bird flu spreads across Australia
Injured wildlife including birds struck by cars, attacked by dogs, and entangled in fishing line are being denied veterinary treatment and humane euthanasia.