Our Changing World

Highly pathogenic H5/N1 bird flu strain has been detected in New Zealand, but it's still early days. There are lots of unknowns about when it will start spreading here, and how our wildlife will react to the virus. But what has happened in other countries? Claire Concannon speaks to Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland about what they've experienced.
SHOW NOTES:
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The Great Ireland Vs New Zealand Bird-Off took place across two episodes in 2023, during the time when bird flu has having a huge impact on Irish seabirds. Listen to them here: Part 1, Part 2.
Read this RNZ explainer about what the confirmation of H5N1 in New Zealand means for wildlife, poultry and the public.
Revisit the 2025 Our Changing World episode Getting ready for H5N1 bird flu, which traced the virus’s global spread and New Zealand’s preparations for its arrival.
For more on Irish birds and wildlife with Niall Hatch and Ricky Whelan, you can listen to BirdWatch Ireland’s podcast: In Your Nature.
GUESTS:
Niall Hatch, BirdWatch Ireland.
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After years of watching it move closer, the highly pathogenic H5/N1 strain of bird flu has arrived on our shores. It has left a trail of devastation, causing mass mortality events in many birds and mammal species. What do we know about this virus and how is one high-risk site preparing to manage the impacts?
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Our Changing World listeners might like to check out All In Her Head, a podcast by investigative journalist Anusha Bradley exploring a complex medical syndrome, and the grey areas where medicine, belief and scientific evidence collide.
See photos, video and read more about Rachel's story in a special digital feature: The girl who couldn’t eat: An RNZ investigation into the controversy over a debilitating illness
A special thanks to the young women and their families for sharing their stories for this series. And thank you to the doctors, surgeons and specialists in New Zealand and overseas for sharing their medical knowledge and expertise.
If any of these stories affect you – you can find more information about EDS, at ehlers-danlos.org.nz - or you can look up EDS NEW ZEALAND on Facebook and Instagram.
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Our Changing World takes a deep dive into controversial plans by US company Colossal Biosciences, backed by filmmaker Peter Jackson, to de-extinct the Moa. In part one of a two-part series, Sharon Brettkelly looks at whether it CAN be done.
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Colossal Biosciences claims they have de-extincted the dire wolf, from CNN.
More detail on Colossal Biosciences’ artificial egg.
Listen to Kathryn Ryan speaking with ‘Mr Moa’ - paleozoologist Trevor Worthy about his long career.
Auckland Museum research associate Daniel Thomas talks to Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira about the discovery of million year old moa footprints.
GUESTS:
Dr Andrew Pask, Chief Biology Officer, Colossal Biosciences
Associate Professor Nic Rawlence, Director of Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory, University of Otago.
IN THIS EPISODE:
(00:00) Could we bring the moa back?
(02:30) Sequencing the moa genome
(06:00) DNA data
(08:00) The artificial egg breakthrough
(10:20) How a "moa" would actually be created
(12:30) Critics challenge the science
(17:20) The conservation implications
(22:00) Māori consultation questions
(23:51) Will we ever see moa roaming again?
(26:08) Coming up in Part 2
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Our Changing World takes a deep dive into controversial plans by US company Colossal Biosciences, backed by filmmaker Peter Jackson, to de-extinct the Moa. In part two of a two-part series, Sharon Brettkelly looks at whether it SHOULD be done.
Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.
LEARN MORE:
Check out this explainer from Katie Kenny for the proposed Gene Technology changes.
RNZ’s Monique Steel looks at who is backing the stalled Gene Technology Bill.
Listen as Kathryn Ryan talks to Kennedy Warne about how de-extincting the moa might fit with conservation efforts.
Ben Novak talks to RNZ’s Saturday Morning show about de-extincting the passenger pigeon.
GUESTS:
Professor Amanda Black, Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Lincoln University and Director of Bioprotection Aotearoa.
Professor Phillip Wilcox, bioethicist and quantitative geneticist, University of Otago.
Andrew Pask, Chief Biology Officer, Colossal Biosciences
Associate Professor Nic Rawlence, Director of Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory, University of Otago.
IN THIS EPISODE:
(00:00) Should we bring moa back?
(01:36) Colossal’s plan to bring back moa
(03:00) Who benefits from de-extinction
(07:33) Māori perspectives, consent and data sovereignty
(10:55) Could New Zealand stop the project?
(14:43) Considering all the aspects of de-extinction
(18:30) De-extinction vortex and the ethics of breeding and consultation…
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details