# Bird Flue in Canada



## guppy (Mar 8, 2002)

This is a heads up for everyone headed up to Canada hunt. 
A chicken was found to have the bird flue in the Regina area on Thursday. Today the USA stopped all imports of birds including waterfowl into the states. We returned from Sask this afternoon and had to go back and dispose of or give away our birds.

This not a joke or a prank. Anyone who hunts Canada will not be allowed to bring birds into the States.

Good Luck
Dean


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Probably going to be a lot of wasted birds. Also there is a thread on this subject in the Duck Forum with links to a few news articles.


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## Pitboss (Sep 8, 2007)

Has anyone heard of any updates or have other web sites, other then the ones listed in the duck forum I can check on.We are planning on leaving for Saskatchewan this Friday. May need to change plans!!


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## welders (Oct 7, 2003)

Just returned from Sask. through North Portal last night. We heard about the ban ahead of time and had to leave 240 snow geese and around 60 ducks and Canada geese behind with some locals we know. They will try to distribute them to other locals willing to take them. US Customs searched our trailer and coolers to make sure we didn't have any birds. There were two large trash dumpters for unknowing hunters who brought their birds to the border, one full, the other one half full. I don't think the Canadian Wildlife Service will tolerate this for long. I heard there was talk of closing Sask. waterfowl season to non-resident non-Canadian hunters. This is a bad situation for everyone.


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## fungalsnowgoose (Sep 11, 2004)

This is our USDA being retarded! This is not the H5N1 strian and is not thought to infect humans at all. These dead birds comming across the border are probabl of less concern than the live ones that are going to be flying across in 2 weeks. Also I have not seen a lot of chickens and geese ever sitting together. IMO this is a knee jerk reaction that is media driven and is very wastefulo for no reason at all.


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## h2ofwlr (Feb 6, 2004)

The US Customs recinded the no waterfowl order Sunday morning. The idiots at Customs thought poultry included wildfowl. It did no good for the guys on Sat and early Sunday AM who tried to cross as they were forced to dump all their birds into dumpsters.


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## Robert A. Langager (Feb 22, 2002)

What are you doing with my bird? Customs blunder irks hunters
BY CHRIS NISKANEN
Outdoors Editor
Article Last Updated: 10/01/2007 01:18:07 PM CDT

U.S. hunters traveling from Saskatchewan, Canada, last week had their game birds confiscated by U.S. customs agents after the U.S. Department of Agriculture misinterpreted its importation rules.

On Thursday, the USDA banned all imports of poultry and poultry products from Saskatechwan province after an outbreak of avian influenza H7N3 was discovered on a chicken farm near Regina.

U.S. customs agents were told the ban also included hunter-killed birds. But the timing was diastrous because thousands of U.S. hunters travel to Saskatchewan each fall.

On Friday and over the weekend, scores of angry hunters - including some from Minnesota - had their birds confiscated at border crossings and airports. Some were told the birds were thrown away.

"We were dumbstruck,'' said Mike Borchert of Le Seuer, Minn., after his group of five hunters had more than 200 ducks and geese confiscated Saturday. "We asked the U.S. customs agents where they were taking them, and they said, 'To the landfill.' ''

*Late Saturday night, the USDA rescinded the order on hunter-killed birds, but not before the damage had been done.*

http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ ... ck_check=1


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## h2ofwlr (Feb 6, 2004)

The idiots at the USDA did not realize that the the US customs would interpret the no poultry order to include wild fowl too. The ban lasted 2 days, and was lifted Sunday AM. Govt agencies at its finest... :roll:

*Avian flu alarm ruffles state hunters as they dump game birds at border*
By Doug Smith, Star Tribune

Last update: October 01, 2007 - 11:41 PM

A dream hunting trip for Mike Doyle and his 12-year-old son, Logan, of Alexandria, Minn., became a nightmare over the weekend when they and a friend were forced to dump more than 100 ducks and geese at the U.S.-Canadian border.
Scores of other hunters -- including many from Minnesota -- were also forced to dispose of, or give away, game birds they shot in Saskatchewan while crossing the U.S.-Canadian border Friday and Saturday.

*In the end, the wild fowl were lost for no good reason, the result, apparently, of a bureaucratic mixup.*

The Doyles' birds had been shot in Saskatchewan and were cleaned, bagged and frozen, the bounty of a memorable hunt, particularly for Logan, who mowed grass to earn money for his first hunting trip to Canada. He had shot his first-ever snow goose and was bringing it home to be mounted.

But late Saturday night they were stunned when they pulled into the U.S. Customs station at Portal, N.D.

Agents there told Mike Doyle that the birds had to be seized because of an outbreak of avian flu at a commercial chicken farm near Regina, Saskatchewan.

"He said, 'Just back up to the Dumpster and dump your birds.' That's what we did. There must have been 2,000 birds in there." Including Logan's prized snow goose.

"He was crying," Mike Doyle said. "It destroyed the trip. You go up there and have a great experience and then don't bring anything back from the hunt, and it's devastating. We were in shock."

The importation of game birds killed in Saskatchewan by hunters was lifted Sunday. No other Canadian provinces were affected.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) had issued an order Thursday afternoon prohibiting importation of "unprocessed avian products" from Saskatchewan, following discovery of avian influenza virus H7N3 in that province.

The virus is highly contagious to birds, but is not the well-publicized H5N1 strain that is a threat to people.

*That order was interpreted by U.S. Customs officials to include game birds being brought back by hunters, and more than 4,100 birds from about 90 vehicles were confiscated at entry points in Portal and Pembina, N.D., and Warroad, Minn.,* said Mike Milne of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Other birds were seized in Montana. All the game was sent to landfills, Milne said.

An unknown number of other hunters gave away their game to local food shelves or disposed of the birds themselves before crossing into the United States.

"We have to react quickly to ensure safety for animal health," said Karen Eggert, public affairs specialist with APHIS. "And then we could revise and clarify over the next few days, and we did that within 48 hours." She said the agency tries to err on the side of caution.

That doesn't help hunters like the Doyles, who lost their game on Saturday even after APHIS had changed directions. Customs agents at Portal, N.D., weren't notified until Sunday.

Terry Harrington, 64, of Brooklyn Park, said he and his two Twin Cities hunting partners weren't allowed to bring back the 102 ducks and geese they shot during a week-long trip in Saskatchewan when they tried to reenter the country on Saturday.

"We couldn't believe it," he said Monday. Harrington's group gave the frozen game birds to a local Canadian food shelf.

Pete Van Hoven of Cottage Grove and Michael Wittek of Eagan also were stopped Friday at the Portal. They lost 18 ducks and geese.

"What a waste of meat," Van Hoven said. He said the ban made no sense because millions of live birds -- potential carriers of the virus -- are now migrating south to the United States from Canada.

About 11,000 U.S. residents hunt in Saskatchewan each fall. Limits on snow geese are liberal in Canada because the plentiful birds are destroying their Arctic nesting areas, officials say.

Doug Smith • 612-673-7667

Doug Smith • [email protected]


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## ej4prmc (Dec 3, 2004)

Canada needs to get their heads out of their 222! They have mad cow and want the USA to import beef, now they have bird flu and want us to CONTINUE to accept these NASTY animals with no protest. TIME TO INVADE CANADA!


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## Canuck (Nov 10, 2004)

ej4prck

Try getting a little information before you post such drivel.

If you want to invade, I say bring it on but ya better hurry cause it's going to get cold soon.

Maybe once you arrive we'll "Shoot, Shovel and Shut-up". Worked for your BSE cases.

uke:


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

ej4prmc said:


> Canada needs to get their heads out of their 222! They have mad cow and want the USA to import beef, now they have bird flu and want us to CONTINUE to accept these NASTY animals with no protest. TIME TO INVADE CANADA!


Know what you are talking about before posting.We haven't imported any domestic fowl from Sask since 2005.So what NASTY animals are you talking about?The wild ones that are imported on their own????? :eyeroll:


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## headshot (Oct 26, 2006)

> If you want to invade, I say bring it on but ya better hurry cause it's going to get cold soon.


Do you think this clown could even find his way here?

I'll drive halfway to meet you ej4prck just so you don't get lost.


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## goosehunter21 (May 18, 2004)

ej4prmc said:


> Canada needs to get their heads out of their 222! They have mad cow and want the USA to import beef, now they have bird flu and want us to CONTINUE to accept these NASTY animals with no protest. TIME TO INVADE CANADA!


Not an overly smart comment :eyeroll:


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