Wanton Waste

[JABIII]

U.S. hunters forced to dump birds at border

Agents seize 4,100 before ban prompted by Canadian avian flu scare is lifted

BY CHRIS NISKANEN
Pioneer Press
10/02/2007


More than 4,000 wild game birds were snatched from American hunters as they headed home last weekend from Saskatchewan, Canada. Critics say it was an overreaction by U.S. officials to an outbreak of avian flu on a chicken farm in the province.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture misinterpreted its rules banning Saskatchewan poultry, forcing U.S. customs agents to confiscate coolers filled with game birds at border crossings during the peak of hunting season.

Mike Borchert, 70, of Le Sueur, Minn., and four friends were returning from a week of hunting in Saskatchewan on Friday afternoon when agents confiscated their 215 waterfowl at a North Dakota crossing.

"We asked the U.S. custom agents where they were taking them, and they said, 'To the landfill,' '' Borchert said. "We were dumbstruck."

On Thursday, the USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service banned all imports of poultry and "unprocessed avian products" from Saskatchewan after an outbreak of avian influenza H7N3 on a commercial chicken farm near Regina.

U.S. customs agents were told the ban included hunter-killed birds, and for at least three days, hunters were forced to give up birds at border crossings in Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota.

Hunters also had their birds confiscated at Canada airports; some reportedly opted to dump them in garbage cans before reaching border crossings.

Late Saturday night, USDA officials rescinded the order on hunter-killed birds after reviewing their protocols, but not before the damage was done.

Customs agents in North Dakota and Minnesota confiscated about 4,100 birds from hunters in 88 vehicles, with each vehicle containing three or four hunters, said Mike Milne, a customs spokesman in Seattle. All those birds are being taken to landfills.

"We've had to order extra (garbage) trucks,'' he said.

Most birds were confiscated at the Portal and Pembina crossings in North Dakota, but birds were also confiscated at Warroad, Minn., and crossings in Montana, Milne said.

A wildlife ecology professor who was hunting in Saskatchewan at the time called the USDA ban ridiculous and a waste of valuable wild game.

"Biologically, it makes no sense whatsoever,'' said Michael Chamberlain, a professor at Louisiana State University. "They were saying you can't transport a hunter-killed bird across the border, when millions of birds are migrating across the border already?"

The ban's timing could not have been worse. Each fall, thousands of U.S. hunters travel to Saskatchewan, considered one of North America's best hunting areas for waterfowl and upland birds.

The Saskatchewan avian influenza is not the H5N1 virus that caused worldwide alarm after spreading through Asia, Europe and Africa. But the H7N3 virus is a serious threat to commercial poultry operations, USDA officials said, so they acted fast with a blanket ban to keep Saskatchewan poultry imports out of the U.S. The H7N3 virus is not known to be dangerous to humans.

"It's better to act with an abundance of caution,'' said Karen Eggert, spokeswoman for the USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service.

Chamberlain said he heard about the ban before reaching the Regina airport Saturday, so his group gave its wild game away to local families. Others were caught off-guard. Chamberlain des-cribed "an ugly scene" at the airport as customs officials confiscated coolers of waterfowl and other game birds from hunters.

One hunter paid $90 to have his birds shipped on a commercial jet, only to have his cooler confiscated, Chamberlain said.

He said he heard reports that hunters were turned back at U.S. border crossings and told to dispose of birds in garbage cans or even in road ditches. It's illegal to intentionally waste game birds in Canada and the U.S.

"It's such a waste,'' Chamberlain said. "They're telling you to get rid of your birds, but you can get a ticket for wanton waste."

Borchert, who's hunted in Saskatchewan for 15 years, was angry his group was forced to hand over their limits of white and dark geese, as well as ducks, just 24 hours before the ban was lifted.

"It's a bunch of political B.S.," he said. "I'm sure we won't get any apologies from our government, either."

Chris Niskanen can be reached at cniskanen@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5524.

http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_7056716

[BigBrother]

If that wont just turn your stomach...

[Turd Ferguson]

The Wonderful WOrld of Big Government

This is what happens when people lose their rights to live freely it IS NO LONGER democratic society-

[JABIII]

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 • dsmith@startribune.com

[StretchedWebs]

What a real drag.Well thats one kid that will grow up hating our government.If I where that kid and someone tried to take my prize snow goose,someone would have a sore shen.

[Catdaddy]

If they looked out in the mud around the potholes, they will probably find another 10,000.