Upland gamebirds including pheasants, bobwhite quail and chukars, are produced primarily for release either for hunting or for restocking of wild populations. They are produced seasonally to supply hunting preserves and because the industry relies on the natural laying cycles of their breeders. Seasonal production, smaller farm sizes and independence differentiate the Upland Gamebird industry from other sectors of the poultry industry.

Like other poultry production, schedules are precisely managed, complex and intricately dependent on timely movements. If product movements are delayed as can happen during animal disease emergencies such as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak in the state, not only is the system disrupted, but the cost of production may increase and live birds may lose their value or market. Since birds continue to grow in spite of stopped movements, the quality of the production system may deteriorate, flocks can become overcrowded and their living environment may be degraded. Collectively, these unintended consequences on uninfected farms can and have resulted in business failure. The Secure Upland Gamebird Supply (SUGS) plan aims to prevent these unintended consequences from affecting uninfected farms caught in states with animal disease emergencies and under the stop movement orders that are used to control an outbreak. SUGS risk assessments identify pathways through which an outbreak might be spread via the movement of a specific product, incorporate mitigation steps that can minimize risk and then assign a risk category to the movement.