On Friday May 28th, the Iowa DNR said during a press release, that the 2017-2018 waterfowl sesson will be shutdown due to a new strain of the avain influenza A (bird flu) found. Thousands of test were done on breeding mallards and Canada geese this year, and an alarming amount of test reports have shown positive results.
This new strain of bird flu (H10N1) could potentially be deadly to humans. The Iowa DNR has said that its taking precautionary measures and has decided to cancel the up coming waterfowl season.
Neighboring states such as Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are expected to make a similar announcements later this week.