AdvertisementAustralia’s most vulnerable native birds will be vaccinated against the H5N1 flu sweeping the nation, but challenges remain in protecting the poultry industry to prevent egg shortages. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said on Tuesday the government had acquired $2 million worth of vaccines to inoculate captive native species most at risk from the disease. Environment Minister Murray Watt said wild birds may be vaccinated where possible, but doing so was difficult. “It does take two vaccination doses to vaccinate birds, and it is difficult enough to catch wild birds once, let alone twice,” Watt said. Biosecurity measures, such as keeping poultry away from wild birds, will remain the first line of defence for farms, which are bracing for stock infections.