Canada goose rescued after two-month effort in North CarolinaComment
1Save StoryShare
A Canada goose with a non-hunting arrow lodged in its neck has been successfully captured and treated after a two-month effort led by Wildlife Biologist Chris Kent, with assistance from other agencies and rehabilitators.
I decided the only chance we had was to try in early/mid June when geese molt their flight feathers and are flightless for a short period of time,” said Kent.
Canada goose rescued after two-month effort in North Carolina
The team was able to remove the arrow, administer first aid, and transfer the goose to a wildlife rehabilitator for a couple of weeks of recovery. The goose is expected to make a full recovery and return to its natural behavior soon.
A Thursday press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about the department’s response to the highly pathogenic avian influenza, shows the nation imported more than 26 million shell eggs, counted by the dozen, since January, which is more than 10 times the amount imported during the same period in 2024.
Increasing egg imports, enhancing biosecurity, researching vaccine options and providing financial relief to farmers were all elements of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ plan to combat HPAI and lower the cost of eggs.
Rollins said her five-pronged plan “has worked,” noting a 64% drop in wholesale egg prices and more than 900 completed biosecurity assessments at poultry farms across the country.
Rollins announced the $1 billion plan to combat the bird flu in February after three years of the H5N1 strain of the bird flu had eliminated nearly 170 million poultry birds and caused domestic egg prices to skyrocket.
From January 2024 to June 2024, the U.S. imported around 2.36 million shell eggs and just over 9.2 million egg products, according to an egg markets report from USDA.
The USDA release said the U.S. had imported more than 26 million shell eggs, by the dozen, from Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, Turkey, and South Korea and imported an additional 14 million egg products, measured in dozen shell-egg equivalents since January 2025.
A USDA egg market report from May showed the majority, 57% of imported shell eggs came from the nation of Türkiye.
The USDA press release said the efforts to increase imports have helped to “bolster domestic supply” and said by comparison, domestic egg production in 2024 totaled 109 billion eggs.
Iowa remains the top egg producing state in the country and to date has lost more than 29 million birds associated with commercial table egg production impacted by HPAI, according to data from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Biosecurity improvements
As part of Rollins’ plan, producers could have free biosecurity assessments at their facilities and receive USDA assistance for biosecurity improvements.
According to the release from USDA, nearly 1,000 facilities have received the assessments, including 162 facilities in Iowa.
Producers can email poultry.biosecurity@usda.gov or call 844-820-2234 to request these assessments.
Iowa ranked second on the list of states with the highest number of biosecurity assessments, behind Ohio at 214 assessments and above Pennsylvania at 144, Indiana at 129 and Missouri at 80 assessments.
Of the assessments completed, 372 have looked at wildlife biosecurity according to APHIS.
Rollins encouraged poultry producers to utilize the free assessments before the fall when wild bird migration will increase the potential for bird flu outbreaks.
“While we are proud that over 900 biosecurity assessments have been conducted to date, resources remain available, and we are urging poultry farmers of all sizes to get your assessments done today before a potentially challenging fall,” Rollins said in the release.
USDA has paid farmers more than $70 million to replenish their flocks since February when USDA increased the indemnity values available to producers with layer flocks affected by HPAI.
The department also announced a grant challenge opportunity in March for research projects to support HPAI prevention, therapeutics, and potential vaccines. The Thursday release said the department received requests for more than $793 million in funding and the awards will be finalized in the fall.
“When President Trump entered office, the cost of eggs was at a record high, seriously denting consumers’ wallets after years of awful inflation,” Rollins said in her statement. “On my first day as secretary, we got to work to implement a five-pronged strategy to improve biosecurity on the farm and lower egg prices on grocery store shelves. The plan has worked, and families are seeing relief with egg prices driving food deflation in the April Consumer Price Index.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 26, 2025 CONTACT: Brooks Fahy, Predator Defense, (541) 520-6003, brooks@predatordefense.org
Bill named to honor Pocatello teen who lost dog to M-44 poisoning
EUGENE, OR — Legislation introduced today by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) would ban government use of wildlife-killing M-44 devices, commonly known as ‘‘cyanide bombs,’’ on public lands. These devices are spring-activated ejectors containing a sodium cyanide capsule that delivers a deadly dose of the poison when triggered, shooting a cloud of cyanide powder up to five feet in the air. They have injured dozens of people and contributed to a Utah man’s death. They also inhumanely kill countless dogs and thousands of wild animals each year, including endangered species. This legislation was first introduced as “Canyon’s Law” in 2017, following a string of tragic incidents involving M-44s. The most high-profile case occurred in Pocatello, Idaho, when 14-year-old Canyon Mansfield touched what he thought was a sprinkler head in the grass while taking a customary walk behind his home with his dog Kasey. In so doing, Canyon had inadvertently triggered an M-44 device. Its poison killed his dog and injured him. Canyon was only believed to have been spared from death due to wind direction. “Working closely with M-44 cyanide bomb victims for more than 30 years, I have witnessed what these indiscriminate devices have done to families,” said Brooks Fahy, executive director of Predator Defense, a national wildlife advocacy group. “Countless people have lost beloved pets, and both children and adults have been poisoned. The emotional scars are permanent.” Despite overwhelming public support for a nationwide ban on M-44s, the Environmental Protection Agency allows the devices to be used by Wildlife Services, the animal-killing program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in their attempts to control native predators like coyotes, foxes and wild dogs suspected of preying on wildlife. Federal agents last year reported using M-44s in 10 states: Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming. State agencies are also authorized to use them in South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Texas. According to Wildlife Services’ own data, their program killed over 10,000 animals with M-44s in just the last two years. Their kills over time consistently include nontarget species, including eagles, wolves, bears, bobcats, fishers, and family dogs. Since 1990 more than 50 family dogs have been documented as killed by M-44s and the full count is estimated to be much higher. According to reports by federal whistleblowers, many M-44 deaths are never reported. In addition, at least 42 people have accidentally triggered an M-44 since 1984. A Utah man, who was poisoned by an M-44 in 2003 and permanently disabled, died in 2018 with M-44 cyanide poisoning listed as a contributing cause on his death certificate. Former Wildlife Services agents state it is only a matter of time before an M-44 kills a child. In 2023 the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a ban prohibiting the use of M-44s by Wildlife Services on all 245 million acres of BLM lands. M-44s are currently not used on lands administered by the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Bureau of Reclamation. However, multiple measures to expand M-44 use–including a bill introduced in the U.S. House in April–pose an increasing threat to public and animal safety. “This is a nonpartisan, public safety issue,” said Fahy. “The federal government has no justification for attempting to ‘manage’ native predators with a device that kills and poisons endangered species, wildlife, dogs and humans on our shared lands. Since M-44s can never be used safely, they must be banned, and a public lands ban is a great start.” Original co-sponsors of Canyon’s Law in the House include Representatives Suzan K. DelBene, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jan Schakowsky, and Dave Min. In the Senate, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Bernie Sanders, Ron Wyden, Sheldon Whitehouse, Chris Van Hollan, Martin Heinrich, Adam Schiff, and Angela Alsobrooks. Text of the legislation is available for both House and Senate. # # #
Predator Defense is a national nonprofit advocacy organization devoted to protecting essential native predators, helping people learn to coexist with wild animals, and ending America’s war on wildlife. They have been championing native predators with science, sanity, and heart since 1990.
Comment
Save Story
Share
Exposing the Big Game 