• By Philippe Perez
• ABC Shepparton
• Topic:Avian Influenza
• https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-14/avian-influenza-outbreak-eradicated/105416926

17h ago17 hours ago

In short:

Agriculture Victoria says avian Influenza has been eradicated from infected properties in Euroa. 

It means there are no longer any restrictions on the movement of birds around the town.

What’s next?

Farmers say a policy towards encouraging more free-range farming needs to be rethought to prevent further outbreaks. 

abc.net.au/news/avian-influenza-outbreak-eradicated/105416926

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Poultry farmers are once again able to move birds across north-east Victoria without restriction after Agriculture Victoria declared an end to the latest avian influenza outbreak in the state. 

In February, detections of the H7N8 bird flu strain were found on four commercial properties near Euroa. 

The outbreak meant hundreds of thousands of birds had to be euthanised, while zones were set up that restricted the movement of birds, bird products and poultry equipment around the region.

Victoria’s acting chief veterinary officer Sally Salmon said work by Agriculture Victoria meant those restrictions could be lifted, and thanked the poultry industry and local bird owners for their help in eradicating the outbreak. 

“Early reporting from the first affected business meant we could act quickly, and their ongoing co-operation with all elements of the response has been a major factor in achieving eradication,” Dr Salmon said. 

She said more than 100 people had been deployed to clean and disinfect each site, as Agriculture Victoria officers visited 350 properties, took 20,600 samples, and completed 21,500 tests for the virus.

“Surveillance is key to gathering the evidence to show that the disease hasn’t spread,”

Dr Salmon said.

Free-range farming ‘increasing risk’

The Euroa incident was the second outbreak of avian influenza in a year, with the first outbreak occurring in May 2024, affecting several properties in south-west Victoria.

Victorian Farmers Federation Egg Group president and Werribee egg farmer Brian Ahmed said the end of the outbreak was welcome, and praised the work of Agriculture Victoria staff and farmers to eradicate the disease.

But Mr Ahmed said a push towards expanding free-range chicken farming needed to be re-considered because he believed it could lead to further outbreaks.

“As a farmer, I trust that the Agriculture Department has done their job and they wouldn’t have lifted those restrictions unless they were quite comfortable that everything’s been eradicated,” he said. 

But he said the next avian influenza outbreak wasn’t a matter of “if” but “when”.

“We know there will be another [bird flu outbreak]. It’s just inevitable,”

Mr Ahmed said.

“Unfortunately, government policies pushing our industry into non-cage systems with free-range [chickens] increases the risk of bird flu outbreaks.

“The free-range system was designed for small-scale farming and there’s nothing wrong with that.

“But we’re commercialising a farming system that was not designed for that, and we’re going to have disease outbreaks like this more regularly, it’s very clear.”

The caged-egg farming system is set to be phased out by 2036 under Commonwealth guidelines, but details on how the phase-out will occur are yet to be released.

Applications to get an alligator hunting license in Arkansas are opening soon. Here’s everything you need to know.

Credit: AGFC

Author: Elizabeth Godinez

Published: 4:48 PM CDT June 12, 2025

Updated: 4:48 PM CDT June 12, 2025

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — While hunting season for the largest reptile inhabiting Arkansas is still months away, anyone who wants to have a shot at a Natural State gator on any public land should get their application in soon!

According to officials with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), applications for the 2025 alligator hunting season here in Arkansas will be available at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 15, 2025, through midnight on Monday, July 15, 2025.

Hunters in the state will be able to choose one of 10 public land hunting areas, which are all situated in the southern half of the state.

Avid gator hunters may see a notable difference in this year’s permit hunts, as a new quota system is in place for hunters who draw a permit to hunt Millwood Lake in southwest Arkansas. 

“We have seen success rates from hunters on Millwood ranging from 25 to 75 percent the last few years, and most of the unfilled tags are the result of hunters holding out for a huge alligator and running out of time,” said Amanda Bryant, AGFC Herpetologist. “Even though our target number of alligators to be removed is unchanged, we increased the number of permits slightly to allow a few more hunters an opportunity to hunt. To ensure that we do not overharvest alligators in this public hunting area, Millwood will also have a quota in place. Hunters will need to call in or check agfc.com before hunting each night to see if the quota has been met. If the quota is reached before the season ends, hunting in Millwood will be over. 

She hopes that the addition of the quota will encourage hunters to harvest a legal alligator instead of holding out for a larger one that they may or may not find later on.

The following hunts are available for the 2025 hunting season:

Alligator Management Zone 1:

• 12 permits for Millwood Lake (nine alligator quota)
• Five permits for Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois D’Arc WMA
• Two permits for Little River
• One permit for Lake Erling
• Alligator Management Zone 2
• One permit for Bragg Lake
• Two permits for Lake Columbia
• Alligator Management Zone 3
• 11 permits for the Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Arkansas River backwaters near Arkansas Post)
• Two permits for Yellow Lake (Pine Bluff Arsenal)
• Five permits for The Delta Wetland Complex

Each permit given authorizes the harvest of one alligator, which must be at least four feet long.

Alligator hunting is allowed from 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise during the approved alligator hunting season dates of September 19-22 and September 26-29, 2025.

Each person who has a permit may have up to three helpers with them on the hunt, but only the permit holder is allowed to harpoon, snare, and dispatch the alligator.

Only Arkansas residents can apply for a license to hunt alligators, and they must be at least 16 years old on the day the hunt begins.

Officials say that applicants who have 18 or more AGFC violation points are not eligible to apply.

Alligator hunt applicants must pay a $5 nonrefundable processing fee at the time of their application, and all must go through an online hunt orientation before going out.