I have just written a letter to my state senator asking for legislation that will allow the destruction of the resident goose population which will be the greatest vector for spreading avian flu to all of us. They crap in every park, schoolyard, golf course and yards everywhere. One goose produces up to 2 lbs of poop daily. The people who have died from the bird flu are those with exposure to bird poop. The bird flu will soon be here and the geese will be the agent for spread!
I admit that something needs to be done and should it come down to it, I support mass destruction of the migratory birds that carry the avian flu.
I was somewhat sarcastic in my response regarding open season on geese. Are infected birds safe to eat? If not, simply shooting them and letting them rot where they fall is a bad idea. It will do us no good to have numerous piles of infect carcases littering the countryside.
Germany has shown that the virus will spread to predators such as cats and martens. I'm sure other scavengers are at risk as well, ie skunks, coyotes, crows & ravens.
Do we task hunters with bringing the dead geese to a burn site? Lots of questions. No clear answers yet.