81788 (2024). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Biosecurity

81788 (2024). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Biosecurity: Under an ‘endemic’ status of H5N1 or highly pathogenic H7N6, what plans are there, if any, to place regulations, enforcement, or notices, on the poultry industry?

Hon Andrew Hoggard: In the event of a HPAI outbreak, MPI will activate a Biosecurity Response under the Biosecurity Act 1993 and utilise relevant regulatory tools such as notices of direction. The objective of the response will be to determine the nature and extent of the outbreak. In the case of H5N1 if the virus is circulating freely in wild birds, then eradication is unlikely. MPI’s focus will then move to a longer-term management approach, in close collaboration with key stakeholders, and learning to live with the ongoing risk the virus would present. MPI will support stakeholders and industry to manage the ongoing risk and impact in keeping with other MPI and industry long term pest management programmes.