{"id":510589,"date":"2026-08-17T10:16:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T00:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=510589"},"modified":"2026-08-17T10:16:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T00:16:42","slug":"first-little-penguin-dies-of-bird-flu-on-phillip-island-prompting-urgent-vaccinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=510589","title":{"rendered":"First Little Penguin Dies of Bird Flu on Phillip Island, Prompting Urgent Vaccinations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Authorities confirmed the death just days after announcing a major vaccination program for over 5,000 little penguins at Phillip Island<\/a> and St Kilda<\/a>, home to the world\u2019s largest colony of around 40,000 birds that draw crowds to the iconic Penguin Parade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The effort, described as the largest wildlife vaccination of its kind, involves two doses per bird and microchipping for tracking, with doses arriving for a Monday start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While officials like Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Graeme Cooke aim to protect the colony and tourism economy, critics including former parliamentarian Craig Kelly question the intervention\u2019s risks to healthy wild birds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The effort, described as the largest wildlife vaccination of its kind, involves two doses per bird and microchipping for tracking, with doses arriving for a Monday start. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":510590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,35],"tags":[10657,20889,14968,8],"class_list":["post-510589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-breaking-news","tag-bird-flu","tag-phillip-island","tag-st-kilda","tag-victoria"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t