The bodies of 14 Australian sea lions have been found off the coast of South Australia’s Kangaroo Island, with four testing positive to H5 bird flu.

Six tested negative while the remaining four were too decomposed to sample.

Endangered Australian sea lions are the rarest species of seal in the country – more than 80 per cent of the estimated total population of 10,000-12,000 nationally is found in SA.

The dead sea lions on the North and South Pages Islands were discovered as part of ongoing aerial wildlife surveillance operations along SA’s coastline and offshore islands.

The latest discoveries take the total number of H5 bird flu cases among SA sea lions to five.

State Environment Minister Emily Bourke confirmed that one case was a pup, while the others were adult sea lions.

“It is concerning, and that’s why we will continue to advocate as hard as we can in regards to every lever that can be pulled needs to be pulled,” Bourke said.

“Marine animals, like all animals, do pass away, and we often can find them on our coastlines as well.

“We’ve seen it recently over the last few weeks in whales on our coastlines and we do see dolphins on our coastlines.”

Since June, there have been 11,847 reports of sick and dead birds and wildlife across SA to the bird flu hotline.

A further 900 crested terns have also been found on the Pages Islands in another mass mortality event to the species. An Australian magpie on Hindmarsh Island and a black-faced cormorant, at Lipson Island on the Eyre Peninsula, are among the new cases – the first SA detections of bird flu in those species.

Bourke said the state government would continue to advocate for a vaccination, which would be an “experimental trial”, to be rolled out in SA.

It follows the introduction of more than 100 feral cat traps at Seal Bay to reduce threats facing sea lions and assist with the recovery of the species populations.

Asked if there were concerns that bird flu would be transmitted to urban areas following the magpie detection, Bourke said the virus had already “gone beyond our coastline”.

“This isn’t a coastal issue. This is a state issue. This is a national issue, and it should be addressed that way,” she said.

“The poultry industry is on alert, as they have been since bird flu was detected in South Australia. But also, they’ve been on alert for quite a number of years.”

Bird flu detections in SA are being recorded as “events” rather than individual cases, with the latest tally taking the state’s total to 318.

Invasive Species Council CEO Jack Gough said SA wildlife could be given a “fighting chance” by reducing other threats and called for further government funding.

“That means controlling invasive species, protecting and restoring critical habitat and stopping further habitat destruction, so populations are as strong and resilient as possible when bird flu hits,” Gough said.

“This is exactly why $20 million for wildlife resilience across the entire country is nowhere near enough. It was never a serious investment for a threat of this scale. The federal government needs to establish at least a $200 million Wildlife Resilience Fund over two years.”

Republished from InDaily