By Todd Schaller, WWA Vice President
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s October, 2022 Newsletter edition.
If you are going on a waterfowl hunting trip to Canada this fall, planning a trip this fall, or thinking about a trip this fall, your head is probably spinning. I know mine is, so I’ll call it the “Canadian border shuffle”.
I think all hunters understand and respect the impacts of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), especially within the poultry industry. But the whirlwind of border restrictions tied to HPAI by U.S. Dept. of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) was rapid and confusing.
Whirlwind
This past June or July, USDA-APHIS released a restriction for bird carcass transport from Canada into the U.S.. This restriction was very specific to a few “hot zones” of HPAI within Canada. Once researched, the restriction was doable for hunters, however not widely understood.
On September 2nd, APHIS released a country-wide restriction on the importation of hunter harvested wild bird carcasses from Canada into the U.S.; a restriction that basically prohibited a hunter from traveling to Canada, then hunting and returning to the U.S. with their harvested game. For obvious reasons this restriction received significant push back by hunters, hunter organizations, and also state natural resource agencies. At the time of the release, WWA leadership contacted a Wisconsin based USDA official in an effort to understand the “why” of the restriction.
On September 12th, after working with stakeholders and other federal agencies APHIS announced a modified restriction, which was practical for hunters who were planning to hunt birds in Canada this fall:
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.
APHIS further recommends that boots and any equipment used to process the carcasses should be clean and visibly free from dirt, blood, tissue, and feces.
Cooked or cured meat and meat products (for example, sausage, jerky, etc.) will not be allowed for import as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requirements cannot be met to identify the species of wild bird.
Hunter-harvested wild game bird trophies entering the United States from Canada must be fully finished, or accompanied by a VS import permit, or consigned directly to a USDA Approved Establishment.
While the process was frustrating for hunters, we should give credit to APHIS for the adjustment. So how did this pivot occur?
- The first step was hearing from hunters, hunting organizations and state natural resource agencies (Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA)). While the volume of contacts is important, having organizations like Ducks Unlimited and AFWA with national political horsepower was even more important; and
- APHIS understanding the impacts and being willing (or directed) to engage stakeholders in conversations using data and science to reduce the risk of spreading HPAI; and
- Stakeholders understanding the priority for APHIS with protection and reducing the risk of U.S. borders from contaminates and invasive species, along with security of US food supply chain, food health and agri-business. What things they control (carcass transportation) and what they don’t control (bird migration).
So what data, science and conversation was most helpful in this discussion of reducing risk?
- Disease data from Southeast Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study showing removal of head, feathers/skin, intestine/organs will reduce risk; and
- The practical benefits for hunters to wash, bag and chill or freeze a carcass, as another risk reduction; and
- Ensuring the methods to reduce risk also comply with other agency requirements – such as the USFWS transportation regulations requiring attached feathered wing or head; and
- Understanding the desire of hunters returning to U.S. to use their harvested game for food; and
- Highlighting the potential impacts of HPAI and role hunt organization can play in educating hunters about HPAI. (WDNR HPAI information); and
- Waterfowl harvest data showing U.S. hunters harvest about 630,00 in Canada compared to 10-12 million harvested within the U.S.
So in the end the “Canadian border shuffle” is over thanks to the voices of hunters, along with science and data supported by hunters.