Atlanta, Ga - Today, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper voiced his full support for the bipartisan, Congressional effort to urge the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to petition the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) to revise its definition of “poultry” to allow continued exports of commercial poultry products in the event of a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) detection in a non-commercial or backyard flock. WOAH’s current definition fails to appropriately distinguish between commercial poultry involved in international trade and non-commercial, backyard flocks, including birds raised-for-release on hunting preserves. This results in significant, negative trade impacts to Georgia’s poultry industry when a backyard or similar flock, never intended for international trade, tests positive for HPAI. This overly broad definition has cost Georgia poultry producers an estimated $300 million since the confirmation of HPAI in a raised-for-release waterfowl flock for hunting preserves in November of 2023.
“As the nation’s leading poultry producing state, WOAH’s overly broad definition of poultry has negatively impacted Georgia poultry producers and the thousands of Georgians who make their living in our poultry industry for too long,” said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper. “Simply put, WOAH’s current position that an HPAI detection in birds raised-for-release on hunting preserves or a backyard poultry flock should trigger the same response as a detection in a commercial operation defies logic, and I’m proud to join this bipartisan group of lawmakers across the country pushing for commonsense reforms to support American agriculture, empower American farmers, and protect American jobs.”
“In Georgia and across the country, backyard flocks and birds raised-for-release commonly interact with wild birds potentially carrying the HPAI virus, putting them at greater risk of exposure to HPAI than poultry raised by commercial operators who follow strict biosecurity protocols to protect their flocks,” said Georgia State Veterinarian Janemarie Hennebelle. “The effectiveness of strict biosecurity protocols speaks for itself as only 30,000 birds in Georgia have been affected by the ongoing H5N1 outbreak that has affected more than 90 million birds across the country. I firmly believe that Georgia poultry exports can and should proceed unimpeded in the event of a detection in a backyard flock or birds raised-for-release and fully support this effort.”
In May, Georgia Representatives Andrew Clyde (GA-09) and Sanford Bishop Jr. (GA-02) and Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Chris Coons (D-DE) sponsored a letter co-signed by 53 bipartisan members of Congress encouraging USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service Administrator Dr. Michael Watson to prioritize petitioning WOAH to revise its definition of poultry. The letter states the US poultry industry suffered $900 million in losses from disrupted exports of chicken, turkey, and eggs caused by detections of HPAI in non-commercial flocks with minimal risk of infecting commercial flocks. Other organizations supporting the effort include the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Chicken Council, US Animal Health Association, and many more. The full letter is available here.
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