To hunt or not to hunt: Avian flu leads to duck hunters' dilemma

This column is an opinion by Gord Follett, former editor ofNewfoundland Sportsman. For more information aboutCBC's Opinion section, please see theFAQ.

Not by any stretch of the imagination do I consider myself an avidwaterfowler. Even "fairly serious" would be pushing it.

Since my lastgoose and duck hunt in Prince Edward Island about eight years ago,waterfowling has been more of an incidental hunt for me, meaning I wasafter other small game such as rabbits or grouse and happened uponafew freshwater ducks or couple geese in a pond or gully. It's also beenabout that long since I've ridden the Atlantic Ocean hunting eider ducksand turrs.

Over the past couple of months, however, I've been thinking about duckhunting quite a bit specifically about what some of my die-hard duckhunting buddies and waterfowlers in general across Newfoundland andLabrador are going to do, now that avian influenza has become so rampant in these parts. Even though it happens rarely, it can still pose a serious health risk to humans.

There certainly is a dilemma for us this year- Peter Emberley, hunter

Thousands of seabirds such as common murres (also known as turrs), gulls and gannetshave been washing up along our coasts this summer; some already dead,others on shorelines, dying slow deathsthat have been heart-wrenchingto watch. Some freshwater birds have also tested positive for the virus.

Local waterfowlers, perhaps the most passionate group of hunters outthere, appear to be facing quite a dilemma this year:will they still hunt?

If so, will they consume the birds they kill?Aren't they concerned for their own health?

I've spoken to numerous duck hunters in recent weeks, and while I wasn'tcompletely shocked, I was somewhat surprised to discover that most of them almost 75 per cent of the 90-plus I've contactedaround the province as part of my mini-survey have every intention of continuing with their favourite hunt again this year. (The season forfreshwater ducks and geese begins Sept. 17, while startup dates for eider ducks and other seabirds are usually in October and November,depending on hunting zones.)

To hunt or not to hunt

"There certainly is a dilemma for us this year," admitted Peter Emberleyof St. John's.

"The day before duck season is usually known to us as'Ducks Eve,' just like Christmas Eve for the kids. It's all we talkabout. We breathe, sleep and dream about ducks and we break out the duckcalls and start practising couple weeks before it opens. This year,however, that feeling is tarnished with the bird flu.

"It's not the first time we've been warned, but this is the first timedead birds have been seen around the coastal waters all over the island.Plenty of hunters are of two minds on whether to hunt. I've heard somesay they will hunt opening day but will not consume the birds. For me,that's not an option. If I hunt, I can't waste the bird. It goes againsteverything I believe in. If I don't [plan to] eat it, I don't shoot it."

It was only within the past couple of weeks that Emberley made the decisionto hunt this year, though he will take precautions.

"This disease seems to affect the birds more so in coastal waters thanour local ponds, lakes and gullies," he said. That's not to say it's not inland as well, he added.

"I invested in a picker that isn't made ofwood, so it can be thoroughly disinfected after each use. The birds willhave to be handled with extra care once the processing begins and againwhen it's time to cook them. We will pick up some aprons and long gloveswhen we handle the birds, just to be safe."

Season uncertainty

Avid seabird hunter Blake Russell of Lewisporte, who is currentlyaboard a tanker in the Arctic on a work term, will be cruising theAtlantic in search of ducks and turrs again this coming season if there is an open season for turrs, and indications as I write this point to a season closure.

"Most turrs and ducks we kill are coming from the north; seems like mostof the sick turrs on the northeast coast are from the Funks [FunkIslands]," Russellsaid.

"We usually wait for the northern turrs anyway, which come later andI have seen no sign of sick eiders or turrs up here inHudson Bay andBaffin area. If I were home, I'd be hunting turrs this year, but we'd just be a bit more cautious, I guess. But I'lldefinitely be hunting eiders when I'm off this winter."

Rob Stringer of Caplin Cove, Trinity Bay, was looking forward to thecoming season, just as he always does, but says his goose gun andtrusty yellow Lab Molly won't be seeing much action in 2022.

"I just can't take a chance with this bird flu," he said, adding that atleast five of his Voisey's Bay co-workers feel the same way.

On Newfoundland's southwest coast, Mark Lomond, administrator of theFacebook group Duck Hunters of Newfoundland, said he will "mostcertainly" be hunting ducks this year.

"All my buddies are saying thesame thing," he added.

While this strain of H5N1 is more widespread this year, he said,"it hasalways been present to some extent in our local bird populations."

Lomond's main concern right now isn't his own health but that of hischickens, he said,as he has a small hobby farm and this strain of avianinfluenza is deadly to poultry. Other than taking several precautions toprotect them, he said, "everything else will be status quo" with regardto hishunting habits.

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