The Victorian government has delayed stricter rules on egg and poultry production by 12 months because of the H5N1 bird flu outbreak, ABC Rural reports.

In April the government said it would legislate new poultry welfare standards as part of a plan to ban conventional laying cages by 2036, in line with national standards agreed in 2023. Tougher rules for new cages were due by the middle of this year and will now start in the middle of 2027, after the state election in November.

"With H5 bird flu in Australia, poultry producers need to be able to immediately focus on preparing for the disease," Agriculture Minister Michaela Settle said. The government said its commitment to phase out conventional unfurnished cages by 2036 is unchanged.

Victoria has recorded nearly 200 H5 bird flu events since the first confirmed case at Portland in July, and in early August poultry producers in southern Victoria were ordered to house their birds.

Brian Ahmed, president of the Victorian Farmers Federation egg group and a caged-egg producer, welcomed the delay but said farmers had not been consulted on the new rules. "We're not going to get rid of a farming system that we believe is positive for our birds," he said, adding that farmers would fight the phase-out. The report is by Emma Field.

Photo: Lever Foundation / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Source: ABC Rural