Should wild birds be vaccinated?

11 August 2025

2 minute read

By: Chris Wright

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt of a report by the World Organization for Animal Health: The State of the World’s Animal Health 2025¹

Disease in wildlife, including wild birds, is a critical concern. The role of wildlife health is fundamental in sustaining ecological balance and ecosystem functionality.

However, attempting to vaccinate wild birds against avian influenza at scale presents significant challenges. Difficulties include the ability to capture the wild birds with consideration for bird and human safety and welfare, the selection of suitable vaccine strains and dosages, the logistics and resourcing in administering the vaccine to each individual bird and how to reliably track and monitor vaccinated individuals.

Instead of vaccination, controlling avian influenza in wild birds focuses on biosecurity measures, monitoring, and avoiding as much as possible interactions between wild and domestic birds. Carcass removal, when safe to do so, and habitat protection are other strategies to mitigate virus spread.

Nevertheless, in December 2023, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) released the document ‘Considerations for emergency vaccination of wild birds against high pathogenicity avian influenza in specific situations’, detailing that emergency vaccination of wild birds against HPAI should be considered in the following situations:

1. If an outbreak of HPAI threatens endangered or critically endangered species, vaccination may be necessary to prevent population declines or potential extinctions. A case study of emergency vaccination of California condors approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2023 showed the potential of vaccination for endangered species but also highlighted challenges in field deployment.
2. If the virus poses a high risk of spreading to other wild-bird populations or domestic poultry, especially in areas with dense bird populations or along migratory routes, then emergency vaccination may potentially have a place.
3. If conventional control measures like culling, surveillance and biosecurity are insufficient or impractical in reducing the outbreak, vaccination may serve as a supplementary tool.
4. In cases where localized outbreaks could have devastating effects on wild-bird populations, and where other measures are not feasible, targeted vaccination could be considered.
5. If certain species are particularly vulnerable to HPAI, especially those that play critical ecological roles, vaccination might be considered to prevent cascading effects on the ecosystem.

In such cases, should vaccination be considered, it must be carefully thought out as part of a broader coordinated response plan that includes risk assessment, surveillance, and consultation with relevant experts and stakeholders. Alignment with WOAH international standards and a commitment to monitoring must also be emphasized when considering the deployment of emergency vaccination.

Reference

¹World Organization for Animal Health (2025). – The State of the World’s Animal Health 2025. Paris, 120pp. https://doi.org/10.20506/woah..... License: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.