HPAI in Australia: What Recent H5 Detections Mean for the Pet Food Industry

High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) itself is not new to Australia. Our pet food industry has navigated a complex period of avian influenza activity over the past several years, with poultry farms impacted and international trade as a result restricted. Recent detections of H5N1 avian influenza in wild birds have generated understandable interest across the sector, the situation today is markedly different from the poultry outbreaks experienced previously. There remain no detections in poultry or in our agricultural production system and there is currently no disruption to pet food trade.

A Brief History of Australia’s HPAI Events

High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) itself is not new to Australia. Our pet food industry has navigated a complex period of avian influenza activity over the past several years, with poultry farms impacted and international trade as a result restricted. Recent detections of H5N1 avian influenza in wild birds have generated understandable interest across the sector, the situation today is markedly different from the poultry outbreaks experienced previously. There remain no detections in poultry or in our agricultural production system and there is currently no disruption to pet food trade. Australia has experienced a series of discrete highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, incursions since 1976. Until 2026, all Australian poultry outbreaks were caused by locally emerging H7 viruses, rather than the globally circulating H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b virus. Prior to this, our next recent outbreak, between 2024 and 2025, Australia experienced a series of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in commercial poultry operations across Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT. These events included H7N3, H7N8 and H7N7 strains and resulted in a number of international trading partners imposing restrictions on poultry-derived products. The outbreaks were successfully eradicated through Australia’s established emergency animal disease response systems.

Following the resolution of the final poultry outbreak at Euroa, Victoria, Australia self- declared freedom from HPAI to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) on 13 June 2025. This was a critical milestone that enabled the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) to begin the process of restoring market access across affected export destinations.

More recently, Australia recorded incursions of H5N1 avian influenza in wild birds. Importantly, these detections have occurred in wildlife rather than commercial poultry and have not resulted in infection within Australia’s agricultural production systems. As of 10th August 2026, DAFF reported 231 confirmed or presumed positive detections in wild birds, including recent detections in South Australia, while confirming there have been no detections in poultry.

Current Industry Position

PFIAA continues to engage directly with DAFF through regular industry briefings and stakeholder discussions as the situation evolves. PFIAA’s Executive is participating in ongoing departmental briefings, ensuring the pet food industry’s interests remain represented throughout the response.

Most importantly for manufacturers and exporters:

There has been no disruption to international trade for Australia’s pet food industry as a result of the recent H5 wild bird detections. PFIAA remains in close contact with DAFF and is actively monitoring developments that could affect export markets.

Significant Progress in Market Recovery

It is important to note that it is estimated that Australia exports are worth $250M AUD annually1. The recovery of market access following Australia’s return to HPAI freedom has continued throughout 2026.

Recent achievements include:

• The United Kingdom recognising Australia’s freedom from HPAI, allowing poultry- derived products produced from 9 May 2026 to resume export eligibility.
• The European Union recognising Australia’s HPAI-free status and restoring eligibility for a range of poultry-derived products and pet food-related commodities.
• Taiwan recognising New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT as HPAI-free zones, with poultry-derived products sourced and manufactured in those jurisdictions becoming eligible for export from 24 July 2026. This included pet food containing poultry ingredients.

These developments represent important milestones for Australian pet food manufacturers.

What Does This Mean for Pet Food Products?

An important consideration for pet food manufacturers, exporters and customers is that World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) recognises certain processed pet food products as safe commodities with respect to HPAI.

A safe commodity, according to the WOAH Terrestrial Code, is a commodity that can be traded from a country or zone regardless of its status with respect to the specific listed disease.

Specifically, extruded dry pet food and heat-treated pet food in hermetically sealed containers, including appropriately processed canned pet food, are recognised as safe for trade when WOAH processing requirements are met. This recognition is based on
scientific evidence demonstrating that the manufacturing processes effectively inactivate the HPAI virus. For more information refer to Chapter 10.4 of the WOAH Terrestrial Code.

As a result, these products may be considered safe commodities regardless of the HPAI status of a country or the source of raw materials, provided the relevant WOAH conditions are satisfied.

Remaining Market Access Priorities

While significant progress has been achieved, some export negotiations remain ongoing.

DAFF continues to work with trading partners that require additional assessments before recognising Australia’s HPAI freedom status. Key priority markets include:

• China, where authorities are assessing Australia’s submission relating to HPAI freedom recognition.
• Japan, which continues to assess Australia’s return-to-freedom dossier and has requested supplementary information.
• South Korea, where broader pet food import requirement reforms and establishment approval processes continue to be negotiated.
• Taiwan, factory registration through designated establishment criteria are being considered to protect trade during certain disease outbreaks (including HPAI)

DAFF has consistently identified the restoration and protection of poultry-related trade as a high priority and continues to work closely with industry through PFIAA

Looking Ahead

Australia’s experience since 2024 demonstrates both the challenges that HPAI events can create for international trade and the strength of the country’s disease surveillance, eradication and market access systems.

While the recent H5 detections in wild birds warrant ongoing monitoring, the current situation differs significantly from previous poultry outbreaks. There have been no detections in commercial poultry, no impact on Australia’s agricultural production systems, and no disruption to pet food exports at this time.

It is important to recognise, however, that market responses to avian influenza events are not always consistent across trading partners. While WOAH recognises extruded dry pet food and appropriately heat-treated, hermetically sealed pet food products as safe commodities, some importing countries may still implement precautionary trade measures following a detection in poultry. In certain cases, this can result in temporary trade suspensions, additional certification requirements, market-specific conditions, or requests for further technical information while trading partners conduct their own risk assessments.

For this reason, continued engagement between exporters, PFIAA and DAFF remains
critical.

PFIAA will continue to work closely with DAFF, provide timely member updates and monitor market developments as Australia progresses further through the final stages of trade normalisation following the 2024-2025 HPAI outbreaks.

Reference(s)

1 World Bank. (2026). Australia dog or cat food, put up for retail sale exports by country | 2024 | Data. World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS). Retrieved August 18, 2026, from https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/AUS/year/2024/tradeflow/Export s/partner/ALL/product/230910