Bird Flu: Keep Distance, Wash Hands, Report It
OPINION: It's a tough pill to swallow that bird flu (avian influenza) has finally arrived in New Zealand. This is a moment many of us have hoped would never come.
Mike Inglis, Biosecurity New Zealand Commissioner North, says there has been great response from the public so far, with more than 6,870 notifications.
He says that the Biosecurity New Zealand team will be working over the holiday season to track and eradicate the hornet.
To date, 38 queen hornets have been found and 25 of those hornets were found with nests.
“Our intensive ground surveillance work and operations across Auckland’s North Shore to find hornet nests has been working well with more than 6,540 ground surveys completed, and that will continue as we move through summer," Inglis says.
"Based on overseas experience, the science tells us that we may find more hornets over in the next few months and we’re prepared for that," he adds.
“We now have more than 780 traps in place out to 11km from where the hornets were found in Glenfield and Birkdale. The international experts guiding our response are providing the most up-to-date advice and information about the hornet and that is feeding into our work.”
Inglis says that next month, with the help of visiting hornet experts from the United Kingdom, Biosecurity New Zealand will look to attach advanced trackers to hornets so they can be traced back to nests.
“As the weather continues to warm, hornets can start to make bigger nests high up in trees and this technology from the Netherlands will help us find and destroy them alongside our continuing surveillance work on the ground.
“If the public can continue to keep an eye while they are enjoying their Christmas break, that will help the work we are doing,” says Inglis.
“We’ll continue to adapt our work to what we see over the summer in line with our Technical Advisory Group’s advice. The TAG draws on the expertise from New Zealand scientists and our overseas colleagues with extensive first-hand experience of the hornet.”
Biosecurity New Zealand wants to hear from anyone who has a suspected hornet specimen, has located a possible nest, or has taken a clear photo.
You can report sightings:
- by calling our exotic pest and disease hotline on 0800 809 966
- by emailing us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- online at https://report.mpi.govt.nz/pest/ - if you use this method, ensure that you select the 'plants, spiders or insects' option from the dropdown list.
