http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/...ationId=438The url above will give you some info on prevention of disease in poultry. I remember going to a seminar at Texas A&M just as Avian Flu was becoming a concern, from their perspective the professors there were more worried about Parrots being the carriers of disease. Things like Exotic Newcastles Disease, especially from illegal parrot imports, infecting poultry populations were a huge concern for them.Actually, in Texas the laws have been severly ammended to deal with disease in bird populations, whether in the pet or poultry industry. Every site, including backyard flocks, are supposed to be registered and tested by the State. There is a law in the US, advocated by the USDA, that will eventually demand ALL livestock be identified from birth to death and tracked and recorded. This law was supposedly put into effect in December of 2006 I believe, not sure about the date though. Poultry is included.*Here in Texas no bird, poultry or fowl, from another state can enter the state even for the purpose or Exhibition or Show. Now I just went to my first Bird Mart yesterday and was surprised to find that some of the breeders were not from Texas. I don't know about laws for Exotic Birds.Naturally, this is all in place to protect the commercial poultry/livestock industry form the small breeder and herd owner. Of course it is a monumental undertaking for the USDA and I can't help but think that it will be riddled with graft and corruption. Can you imagine what it will cost to grow livestock if these measures are inforced? Better still can you even imagine what it will cost tax payer to fund the USDA inforcement. Sorry to go on tangent but I think chickens are at greater risk than the Hookbills, at least from the information I have received on the subject. If ther is someone here that owns/operates an Exotics Aviary for commercial pet bird sales they might shed further light on this, all I really know about is aimed towards backyard chicken flocks.