Poultry – turkeys
Advice about the management and care of turkeys for NSW schools.
Notice: All schools with birds (including poultry)
Updated 30 July 2026
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is responding to the confirmed detections of H5 bird flu in NSW. At this stage, bird flu has not been detected in commercial poultry flocks, captive birds or any other birds in NSW.
If unusual deaths or illness in wild birds or birds owned by the school are observed, please:
- Avoid contact
- Record by taking photos or video
- Report immediately to the Emergency Animal Disease (EAD) hotline on 1800 675 888.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development provides advice about the current situation at Avian Influenza.
Specific advice for schools can be found at Avian influenza – schools.
Using these notes
These notes:
- have been written to be consistent with community, industry and research and teaching based animal welfare legislation
- apply to all schools in NSW, government and non-government
- contain standards (in a bold italics at the beginning of each section) and guidelines. The standards must be met by schools, in accordance with the requirements of the Animal Research Authority. The guidelines are the desirable practices to achieve desirable animal welfare outcomes
- reflect available scientific knowledge, current practice and community expectations.
Each section of these notes lists any approved activities, with their approved categories, that are applicable to turkeys. A complete list of the approved activities for all species can be found in Approved activities.
Category 4 and 5 activities may be undertaken by students only if prior written approval from the Schools Animal Care and Ethics Committee (SACEC) has been obtained using Application form 1.
Before a teacher demonstrates a category 5 activity to students, the teacher must have written certification from the SACEC. Certification is sought using Application form 4.