The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry heard the latest information on the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak. This news release from committee chairman Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., says the disease has spread rapidly and forced egg and poultry producers to depopulate millions of birds across the country, creating short and long-term damaging effects on rural economies.
“Agriculture businesses are often the backbones of the rural communities that dot the American countryside, and the ripple effect that HPAI has had on these rural communities is dramatic and widespread,” Chairman Roberts said.
“While this outbreak has caused severe disruption to the U.S. poultry sector and to retailers, it is important to reiterate that there has been no impact on human health and/or food safety.
“It is critical that we take the lessons learned from this outbreak and put them to good use. We need to take a good, hard look at the animal health infrastructure here in the U.S. so we have the proper measures in place to continue to protect U.S. flocks and herds, and thus the global food supply.”