Fair not changing fowl rules

Despite a warning from state health officials about avian flu, the Northwest Montana Fair is planning to move forward — cautiously — with its traditional livestock judging categories.

Flathead County Fairgrounds Manager Mark Campbell said Friday the fair was taking a wait-and-see approach before canceling exhibits.

“We’re watching it closely,” Campbell said. “Bird flu can change relatively quickly, and although it is very contagious between waterfowl and poultry, it can burn itself out relatively quickly as well.”

Montana State Veterinarian Marty Zaluski on Tuesday advised waterfowl owners to keep their birds at home from county fairs this summer.

Zaluski said that the risk of spreading the flu at fairs is too high. “These waterfowl may appear healthy, but if infected could easily spread the virus to other birds in the barn during a county fair,” Zaluski said in a press release.

There have been just two confirmed cases of H5N2 bird flu in Montana, and both stemmed from interactions with waterfowl.

The virus was discovered in April in a captive gyrfalcon near Columbia Falls. The gyrfalcon had been fed a hunter-killed duck, according to Tahnee Szymanski, assistant state veterinarian.

The second case was discovered in a backyard chicken flock in Judith Basin. The chickens had interacted with domestic ducks that shared a pond with wild waterfowl.

Elsewhere in the U.S. since December, there have been 40 million bird flu-related avian deaths. Most of the poultry were killed as a precaution after the disease was found in poultry farm populations.

Campbell said a better-informed decision will be made closer to the August time of the Northwest Montana Fair.

“Probably about a month out we’ll work with our superintendent to see what our choices are,” he said. “It’s just too early for us to make that decision.”

Although fairs in other states have canceled all poultry exhibits, Montana veterinary officials say that step isn’t necessary because of the limited extent of the disease in this state.

“This is not a public health concern, it’s more of a livestock concern at the moment,” Campbell said. “But as we get closer to the fair we can make that decision.”

Tom Lutey of the Billings Gazette contributed to this story.