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The health and wellbeing of all animals at the Melbourne Royal Show remains our number one priority.   Due to the current uncertainty around the expansion of H5N1 bird flu, Melbourne Royal has made the difficult decision to cancel the Poultry Competition at the 2026 Melbourne Royal Show. Following consultation with Agriculture Victoria and the Chief Veterinary Officer team, Melbourne Royal is taking this precautionary step to protect the health and wellbeing of the Victorian poultry community. Whilst there are currently no detections of H5N1 in Australian poultry, the situation is not predictable and, as such, we want to give our community as much certainty as possible. Melbourne Royal is grateful for the time and efforts our poultry exhibitors have put into their preparations for this year’s Show and greatly appreciate their understanding and continued support. Melbourne Royal hopes to welcome back the Melbourne Royal Poultry Competition in 2027.