Obviously, if the avian flu becomes a true threat, and since waterfowl, of any variety, carry every known form of influenza as it is, you can be pretty sure of two things. One, every waterfowl taxidermist in the U.S. WILL get ill, and, Two, waterfowl hunting and "ownership" will be dissolved by the Wildlife and Fisheries in an attempt to protect human interests.(Meaning, us bird folks won't have much work!) Hopefully, it won't come to that, and we can continue in our business, however, if it DOES become epidemic, we bird people, may want to look into fiberglas fish reproduction work! With the combination of the weather patterns the America's have been having, no rain, dry, poor waterfowl breeding conditions, and the chance of an avian virus, well, bird folks will be very thoroughly "shot-in-the-foot", with possibly years of inactivity in the waterfowl hunting scene, not to mention, we may lose clients from illness, if not, ourselves! Let's hope this is a "SARS" type scare, or a "Y2K" scare, and that this fall brings nothing but chilled blue sky with great migrations, NOT containing a virus that can really hurt humanity!
Return to Bird Taxidermy Category Menu
Dave i second all you said! I really got worried about the flu a few months ago...then decided, hey what can I do about it? Nothing! So i quit worrying. Living here in Arkansas, closing waterfowl season would mean a HUGE chunk gone out of alot of people's wallet. Not only the guides, but hotels, restaurants, quick stops, sporting goods, AGFC, taxidermists, you name it. Our duck seasons have really sucked since about 1998, but I would sure hate to see it closed all together!
since I don't do hardly any waterfowls. But do worry about the taxidermist who make a living on birds. I agrree with Dave, the government will come up with regulations that negatively would affect taxidermists and hunters alike. Just look at what they are doing with the CWD. Most regulations don't make any sense, but that hasn't stopped the politians in Washington yet.
I guess Mimes is right. What good does it do to worry about it. Nothing we can do if it should happen. Let's just keep all our fingers and toes crossed that nothing will come of it.
I am more concerned about catching the flu and living through it myself.
I'm not implying that people should not be concerned with the possibility of an avian virus, but as stated in an earlier post, SARS and Y2k were nothing but a big scare tactic by a hyperactive media driven by ratings. Yes, there is a possibility that this asian bird flu could mutate and cause extreme damage in this country, but the last time I looked, there was no shortage of asians on the planet.I know that ratings are a huge driving force,(or farce,perhaps), for the tabloid press that we are now stuck with, but they do definitely show a definite predilection for simply scaring the hell out of people in order to keep them all in a blinded, sheeplike state. I know that the possibilities for you bird guys out there are threatening, but it is best to simply be prepared for the worst, and not be forced to react or overreact if it comes to pass. If I recall correctly, in september of 2005, there were reports of the bird flu arriving by october, this obviously hasn't happened. Also despite its size, asia is an overcrowded cesspool of humanity, and with the exceptions of the largest cities, conditions here in North America are quite different.I hope that a year from now, we'll all see this as another overblown b.s. story. Perhaps we should send all of our media personalities over to Asia for awhile to check into the matter more closely.
I'm 56 and been involved in taxidermy since I was 12. When I started the Pennsylvania shops back then averaged 300 ringneck pheasants a year. All wild birds. Then the ringnecks started to demise until zero came in. As the pheasants disappeared more and more deer came in. And then there were canada geese coming in. You can count on change.
This past deer season was poor with the lowest number of deer mounts in 25 years. I was concerned. Then in February I got a surprise when due to good weather I took in 17 beaver mounts. Never did more than one or two beavers come in per year.
Trust in providence and expect the unexpected.
PS.- Back in the mid seventies I got vaccinated for the coming SWINE FLU. A jab in each arm. And I was sick from the shots for about three months. The SWINE FLU never came.
die from other types of flu each year, but you still don't see everyone running to get those flu shots. Nothin I can do about it anyway. There are plenty of other diseases out there that can kill you that you are a lot more likely to get than the bird flu.
Right now I'm more worried about when the weather is going to deal us another blow. We had 2 tornadoes in two weeks, and one of those was only about a mile away. And northeast of Dallas was hit hard last night by a tornado. BP
I say.