So far, so good - no new farms found with bird flu

While Agriculture Victoria is still dealing with avian influenza at eight Victorian poultry farms, no new infected properties have been identified since June 24.

The eradication efforts involved more than 5,000 separate activities, including property visits and dead bird collections along with the testing of more than 16,300 samples.

Victoria's Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Graeme Cooke said housing requirements also meant birds near the infected properties had to remain in their enclosures to avoid contact with wild birds.

"We appreciate that in these areas it's not always easy to have your birds housed and we thank bird owners for their essential support to prevent the spread of this disease, as the risk of the disease remains" he said.

The update comes after eight farms in Victoria, two in NSW and one in the ACT were forced to close in a bid to stop the spread of avian flu.

More than one million chickens and ducks have been culled due to the outbreaks.

Infected properties continue to be decontaminated and the risk of infection removed.

The outbreaks prompted Woolworths to limit customers to two cartons of eggs in NSW, ACT and Victoria since last month while Coles introduced a similar policy earlier in June.

McDonald's was also forced to shorten its breakfast hours which now temporarily end at 10.30am, instead of midday. 

Last month, the Melbourne Royal Show announced the postponement of its 2024 poultry competition because of the outbreaks.

In 2023, the competition involved more than 1200 chickens, ducks and turkeys.

Australian Associated Press