So last year, 2015, our county was given a letter by the state vet, 'suggesting' (but really commanding) that the county fairs in our state not allow waterfowl to come to the fairs. Based off of inaccurate information and a total lack of education on the part of both the state and the county extension programs in multiple counties, waterfowl were not allowed into many county fairs in my state. There was a poultry skill-a-thon held in my county about a month and a half before our county fair on the fair grounds in which call ducks were used in a quality judging contest for one of the stations in the skill-a-thons and the fair ground staff (only one member mind you) blew a gas-git! She claimed that the presence of the ducks put the whole fair at risk and that the organizer of the event was responsible for possibly canceling the entire county fair.
Now, I did my research on this even both before and after and have this to say to any exhibition people out there: currently there is not a threat of avian flu, so there is no need to eliminate water fowl from fairs in 2016. Back when this episode happened, there weren't any active cases in my state, and the even coordinator did her research on the virus and how it was transferred and how to prevent the spread. She even contacted the CDC and the university of Chicago to discuss with their soil and disease experts on the spread of the disease through the soil and took measures to maintain sanitation with the event.
In short, please make sure that your educators are actually educated on the disease and how it spreads so they don't make an ignorant decision about fairs and waterfowl.
Now, I did my research on this even both before and after and have this to say to any exhibition people out there: currently there is not a threat of avian flu, so there is no need to eliminate water fowl from fairs in 2016. Back when this episode happened, there weren't any active cases in my state, and the even coordinator did her research on the virus and how it was transferred and how to prevent the spread. She even contacted the CDC and the university of Chicago to discuss with their soil and disease experts on the spread of the disease through the soil and took measures to maintain sanitation with the event.
In short, please make sure that your educators are actually educated on the disease and how it spreads so they don't make an ignorant decision about fairs and waterfowl.
