How the Avian Scout Could Help Protect Australian Poultry from Avian Influenza
Australia is no longer free of the high-pathogenicity H5 avian influenza strain that has devastated poultry industries and wildlife populations overseas. Since the first detections in migratory seabirds in Western Australia in June 2026, the virus has been confirmed in wild birds across multiple states, with evidence of local transmission among greater crested terns and the first mass mortality events recorded. Critically, there have been no detections in commercial poultry to date. Authorities continue to emphasise that strong farm-level biosecurity remains the primary defence.
Wild birds are the main pathway for avian influenza into poultry operations. The virus spreads through direct contact or, more commonly, indirect contamination of feed, water, litter, equipment, and outdoor range areas via droppings, saliva, or feathers. Free-range and free-to-roam systems face higher risk because poultry and wild birds can share space or resources. Traditional tools—netting, fixed acoustic or visual deterrents, and physical barriers—help but have clear limits: birds often habituate to static devices, large outdoor areas are difficult and expensive to fully enclose, and constant manual intervention is impractical.
Mobile Deterrence as a Biosecurity Layer
International experience shows that active bird deterrence can reduce the presence of potential carriers around poultry facilities. In Japan, laser-equipped drones have been trialled specifically to keep wild birds (including crows and other scavengers) away from poultry farms during periods of heightened avian influenza risk. Similar approaches using drones, lasers, and acoustic systems appear in North American poultry operations as part of broader biosecurity programs.
Australia already has a proven, locally developed tool that operates on the same principle of active, mobile deterrence: the AeroDrone Avian Scout from Bask Aerospace.
The Avian Scout is a commercial bird-scaring drone system designed and proven on Australian farms for horticultural crop protection. It pairs a rugged multi-rotor platform with the Screecher sonic payload. The Screecher broadcasts a range of distress and alarm calls chosen to exploit bird psychology, encouraging birds to leave the area rather than simply relocate nearby. Flight paths are generated to be unpredictable and property-specific, reducing the chance of habituation. Key operational characteristics include:
- Up to 25 minutes of flight time per battery
- Coverage of areas up to 80 hectares per mission
- Operation in winds up to 30 knots and light rain
- Autonomous mission planning, launch, and return via accessible software
While originally developed to protect fruit, nuts, vineyards, and other crops from species such as cockatoos, crows, lorikeets, starlings, and parrots, the same capability is directly relevant to poultry biosecurity.
Practical Applications Around Poultry Operations
An Avian Scout system could be deployed to:
- Patrol farm perimeters, free-range paddocks, and buffer zones to discourage wild birds from landing or foraging near poultry housing and outdoor ranges.
- Focus activity around feed and water points, manure storage, or any standing water that attracts birds, reducing opportunities for contamination.
- Provide a mobile presence that is harder for birds to ignore or adapt to than fixed scare devices or static lasers.
- Supplement (not replace) core biosecurity measures such as netting of sheds and feeders, exclusion of wild birds from water sources, strict visitor and vehicle protocols, and rigorous cleaning and disinfection.
Because the system is autonomous once missions are planned, it can deliver consistent coverage without constant staff time—valuable during high-risk periods when migratory or local wild bird activity increases. The platform is already supported in Australia with training, servicing, and local knowledge of bird behaviour in Australian conditions.
Realistic Expectations and Complementary Role
No single tool eliminates the risk of avian influenza. Outbreaks overseas have occurred even on farms with strong biosecurity, and free-range systems inherently carry higher exposure potential. The Avian Scout should be viewed as one practical, scalable layer within a multi-layered approach: physical exclusion where feasible, strict hygiene and movement controls, rapid reporting of unusual mortality, and active deterrence of wild birds in high-risk zones.
Its advantages in the current Australian context include being non-lethal and environmentally acceptable, relatively straightforward to operate, and already proven under local farming conditions. For producers managing large outdoor areas or seeking alternatives to labour-intensive chasing or incomplete netting, mobile sonic deterrence offers a usable option that aligns with the principle of minimising contact between wild birds and poultry.
Looking Ahead
As H5 avian influenza establishes a foothold in Australian wild bird populations, the poultry industry’s focus on prevention will only intensify. Tools that reduce the density and dwell time of wild birds around production sites form a logical part of that effort. The Avian Scout, already operating successfully across Australian horticulture, is well positioned to contribute to that protective layer for poultry producers who choose to integrate it.
Proactive, technology-supported biosecurity is one of the strongest defences available while surveillance continues and the full ecological picture of the virus in Australia develops. For producers interested in evaluating mobile bird deterrence as part of their property-specific plan head over to the Avian Scout page.