Tyler Harper, the Georgia Agriculture Commissioner, was the latest state official to advocate for the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) to adopt a clear definition of poultry. The move would allow exports of commercial poultry products even if highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is detected in a non-commercial or backyard flock. Harper explained that the current WOAH definition does not distinguish between commercial poultry involved in international trade and backyard or wild birds.
“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,” Harper said. “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.” Read more