A giant petrel found dead on Farewell Spit is being tested for bird flu, but most likely died after being battered by storm conditions, officials say.
New Zealand has never had a case of H5 bird flu, but the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) said it was closely monitoring the movement of the virus and was prepared for its arrival.
MPI chief veterinary officer Dr Mary van Andel said there had been five detections of H5 in migratory seabirds in Australia but no reports of transmission, and there was a low risk of infected birds migrating to New Zealand.
Van Andel said it was not unusual for exhausted storm-wrecked sea birds such as giant petrel to be found on New Zealand's coastlines at this time of year, particularly during large winter southerly storms.
Since detections of bird flu in Australia, van Andel said there had been an uptick in reports of dead and sick wildlife to MPI and all had tested negative for bird flu.
Department of Conservation (DOC) Golden Bay operations manager Ross Trotter said the giant petrel was found by Pest Free Onetahua staff on Wednesday evening.
He said giant petrels were regular visitors to New Zealand and Onetahua Farewell Spit was a well-known hotspot for them, so it was not unusual to see them in the area.
DOC staff took a sample from the petrel on Thursday and it will be tested at MPI's animal health laboratory.
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz
