Mike Szymanski, North Dakota’s Migratory Game Bird Management Supervisor says he’s been getting a lot of questions recently about wild bird carcasses found along the Missouri River.
“There’d be like 25 dead geese lying in a field and they’d call and ask if they should go and eat them,” he said, “and it’s like, well … no.”
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department found a number of Canada geese carcasses along the Missouri River and Nelson Lake in Oliver County. Testing found that the bird flu was the cause of the birds’ deaths.
Avian influenza reached the U.S. a few years ago, but it is now affecting all 50 states, spreading through migratory flocks. One of the main routes for birds carrying the bird flu is the central flyway, a migration route that spans from Texas, up the middle of the U.S., and into Canada.
The flyway crosses North Dakota, and when the bird flu came to the U.S., it was quickly brought to the state. When it first arrived in 2022, the virus was found in 24 domestic flocks, mostly in backyard chickens and commercial turkey operations.
That number was brought down to only four domestic cases in the state in 2024, but the virus remains rampant in wild game birds.
In other states, the virus has led to mass cullings of industrial poultry flocks and sickened hundreds of dairy herds, according to the Center for Disease and Control. The latest CDC report shows the virus has infected 70 people and led to one death. Still, the CDC says current public health risk is low.
This spring, North Dakota hunters will be out on the land during the light goose conservation order. They’ll be harvesting light geese like snows, blues, and Ross’s: all birds affected by avian influenza.
Officials say most birds in migratory flocks will have been exposed to the virus at some point. Collecting and eating these birds won’t be a problem for hunters though, because, as State Wildlife Veterinarian Charlie Bahnson says, the virus is very heat sensitive. As long as hunters are thoroughly cooking their birds to at least 165 degrees, they are safe to eat. Due to a variety of factors, already dead birds pose a much greater risk than harvested birds and should never be eaten, even if its cooked properly.
Officials recommend anyone out along the Missouri River during migration take proper safety precautions so they don’t spread the virus. This includes not handling game that is found dead or appears to be sick, washing hands with soap and hot water, and cleaning equipment and boots, especially if people have birds of their own.
The public to help in monitoring the outbreak in wild birds by reporting any sick or dead birds through the online form at gf.nd.gov/mortality-report.