Inghams shares fall after bird flu detected in WA

The news: Shares in Inghams fell in afternoon trade after Western Australian authorities detected the H5N1 avian influenza strain in two wild birds in the Esperance region.

Shares fell 3.5% to $2.02 at 1:05pm AEST.

The context: The poultry distributor said its chicken breeder farms and grower network are primarily located in the Muchea, Gingin and Mogumber regions, approximately 690-779 kilometres from Esperance, highlighting that there has been no detection in its commercial poultry.

Inghams added that it has implemented a complete lockdown, preventing all non-essential access to its Western Australian farms and processing operations as a precautionary measure.

Additionally, a regional housing order to allow WA free range poultry to be kept indoors is being sought by the Australian Government’s chief veterinary officer. The company said an exemption order from the ACCC would be in place to protect the continuation of free range product labelling should the order materialise.