Bird Flu putting a crimp in Canadian bring-homes

The U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has posted that American hunters cannot bring home game birds harvested while hunting in any one of at least 63 hot zones in Canada.

This is due to restrictions by APHIS aimed at preventing the spread of a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza, i.e., bird flu. Now, these zones include some in Alberta (20 zones), British Columbia (nine zones), Manitoba (one zone), Ontario (20), Quebec (five), and Saskatchewan (nine), meaning more than likely the most popular areas are impacted. To find out if their spot is on the list, sportsmen can go to inspection.canada.ca and search for “Highly pathogenic avian influenza zones” and enter the name of the hunting area in the search box.

Of course, millions of these Canadian birds will eventually end up in the United States on their own. They have had a habit of flying south in the Fall for a few years now.

By Michael Crites

Michael Crites has served as executive editor of AmericanFirearms.org since 2016 and previously held positions as associate editor and range correspondent dating back to 2000. He discovered his passion for precision shooting at age 12 during his first visit to his grandfather's shooting range, eventually earning an Expert classification in three different shooting disciplines before age 18. During his studies at University of Wyoming, he earned four varsity letters on the collegiate rifle and pistol teams, serving as team captain for three consecutive years. He became the first UW student to complete the NRA Range Safety Officer certification while maintaining full-time student status. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Communications. His diverse career has included roles as Range Safety Coordinator for the National Rifle Championships in Camp Perry 2001; editor-in-chief, Precision Shooter Quarterly; series editor, Modern Firearms Handbook collection; managing editor, National Shooting Sports Foundation Newsletter; editor, Competitive Shooter Magazine; operations director for Western Arms & Ammunition Co.; senior editor for the Shooter's Reference Annual (Cheyenne); content director for The Firearms Report, published by the American Shooting Coalition in Billings, MT; firearms correspondent for Hunting & Shooting, produced by Outdoor Sports Media Group in Jackson, WY; and publisher for Wyoming Shooting Sports Journal in Casper. He has contributed as a regular columnist for American Rifleman (NRA Publications), technical editor for Precision, a publication of the National Bench Rest Shooters Association (Phoenix, AZ); and as firearms specialist for the Gun Owner's Annual. As a digital content creator, he has written more than 400 articles on AmericanFirearms.org, developed shooting technique coverage for the Brownells Shooting Blog (Montezuma, IA) and Federal Premium "Range Notes" platform (Anoka, MN), and served as lead content strategist for International Defensive Pistol Association (Berryville, AR). Beyond Tactical Firearms, his current endeavors include content development for the Wyoming State Rifle Association (Cheyenne, WY) and technical manual production for High Plains Publishing of Laramie, WY. He has contributed to the 12th, 13th, and 14th editions of Modern Sporting Rifles Guide and edited The Complete Guide to Tactical Shooting and Competitive Shooter's Reference Manual (Gun Digest Books).

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