The ban, of course, results from the outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza that has ravaged domestic poultry flocks and wild birds the past several months on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. The timing of the ban is especially unfortunate, though, because waterfowl seasons in some Canadian provinces opened Sept. 1, and many American hunters had scheduled trips to Canada to hunt ducks, geese and sandhill cranes – migratory birds with no regard for borders or the ban that now will prevent hunters from returning home with legally taken game birds.

Uh…don’t they know that birds migrate?

This is possibly the dumbest action I have seen from the feds. You can't bring dead birds back into the US for fear of avian flu. What, are ducks going to be stopped at the border? Match this with the withdrawal of hundreds of thousands of acres of public land from hunting and the bigger picture comes into view, IMO.

People making policies based on emotion and not science.

On September 8, 2022, DU provided science-based information to USDA APHIS to advise their decision to revise import restrictions, while maintaining strong measures to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Under the new restrictions, unprocessed hunter-harvested wild game bird carcasses, originating from or transiting Canada, must meet the following conditions:

• Viscera, head, neck, feet, skin, and one wing have been removed; and
• Feathers have been removed, with the exception of one wing, as required by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for species identification; and
• Carcasses must be rinsed in fresh, clean, potable water prior to packaging and must not have visible evidence of contamination with dirt, blood, or feces; and
• Carcasses must be imported in leak-proof plastic packaging and stored in a leak-proof cooler or container during transport and import; and
• Carcasses must be chilled or frozen during transport and import.

“We appreciate USDA’s willingness to hear the concerns from DU and revise this rule in a practical and scientific manner,” said DU CEO Adam Putnam. “This revision is not only a win for American waterfowlers but also for the application of sound science. Now, waterfowlers who’ve already departed north of the Canadian border have clear guidance on how to limit the spread of HPAI and bring their harvested game birds back into the U.S. safely.”

LEARN MORE: https://www.ducks.org/.../du-helps-reverse-import-ban-of... See less
Comments
Andy Sommer
So when they fly into the US the problem magically disappear’s? That’s really Cool! I know I had to wear a mask going through Canada and on Air Canada, what’s going on up there?
Reply37m
Bob Jones
Yep , The birds can fly down at will, but dont bring a harvested bird down, the experts over reacting as usual, but common sense is bunk, so USDA might be using Fauci as thier guy too
Reply1h
Ducks Unlimited President Chuck Smith
Big win for our American waterfowlers. Big win for all of Team DU. Special thanks to our dedicated team of scientists!
Reply54m
Michael Embrey
All the science based information they should need is that, well, birds fly..
Reply1h
Mallori Murphey
Mike Brasher is Sound Science.
Reply46m
Bryan Mahler
No evidence of blood?
How’s that work, they always have some blood on them no matter how good you rinse them off.
Reply1h