Bird vaccination in zoos focuses on rare, disease-prone species

Risk level varies for different species, say experts amid plans for Mandai pilot

- Shabana Begum Correspondent

Vaccination being carried out at Belgium's Pairi Daiza zoo, where vaccines have been given to the African penguins, great white pelican and Australian pelican. Public health experts have said that in certain cases, vaccination of wildlife could be one way to safeguard against the spread of zoonotic diseases. PHOTO: PAIRI DAIZA

(PAIRI DAIZA)

Animal vaccines have for centuries been used in farms to prevent diseases from spreading among livestock, but this tool is increasingly being used for another purpose: to safeguard endangered species from succumbing to infectious diseases.

This comes as climate change and globalisation accelerate the spread of pathogens around the world, with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) detected even among the penguins and seabirds on the uninhabited Antarctic region.

On Nov 19, Singapore announced that it will be conducting a pilot to vaccinate against HPAI potentially up to 10 species of birds across the wildlife parks managed by the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, starting from 2026.

The pilot programme is a joint effort undertaken by the National Parks Board (NParks), Mandai Wildlife Group, Temasek-backed French company Ceva Animal Health and endowment fund Ceva Wildlife Research Fund.

But the strategies behind vaccinating wildlife in zoos would be different from those used when immunising farm animals, experts told The Straits Times following the announcement.

A poultry farm, for instance, would vaccinate all of its chickens to prevent economic losses and food shortage from an outbreak.

However, for vaccination programmes in zoos, shots do not need to be administered to every individual bird because not all avian species in a zoo face the same level of risk, Dr Pierre-Marie Borne, director of the Ceva Wildlife Research Fund, told The Straits Times.