U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and more than 50 of her colleagues representing poultry-producing states want the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) to revise its definition of “poultry” to protect America’s agricultural competitiveness.
“The current outdated definition is costing America’s poultry producers hundreds of millions of dollars in lost exports through unwarranted trade disruptions enabled by WOAH’s inadequate definition,” Sen. Ernst and her colleagues wrote in a bipartisan, bicameral May 2 letter sent to Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Administrator Dr. Michael Watson.
“There are countless examples across numerous states of isolated cases of [highly pathogenic avian influenza] detections in backyard or wild birds prompting unnecessary trade bans, even though they pose a miniscule threat of infecting commercial flocks,” wrote the lawmakers, noting that during the last year, multiple states suffered nearly $900 million in disrupted overseas chicken, turkey, and egg sales.
The lawmakers added that establishing a distinction between commercial and other poultry flocks can work, and noted that other major poultry exporters like Brazil and Canada have received exemptions from import partners to allow trade from unaffected regions, or otherwise claim to be unaffected by the WOAH rules.
“Meanwhile, with other exporters securing flexibility, American poultry unfairly shoulders nationwide trade restrictions from an outdated WOAH definition that does not adequately exclude low-risk sources,” they wrote.
Sen. Ernst and her colleagues pointed out that because WOAH is not taking swift action on this matter, it is up to APHIS, the nation’s representative to the international body, to elevate it as an urgent priority “for the sake of our farmers’ livelihoods and in order to maintain the value of American agriculture.”
They support a proposed definition from the United States Animal Health Association that they say “rightly distinguishes” backyard and wild poultry populations from the commercial flocks genuinely supplying international trade, according to their letter.
“America’s agricultural competitiveness depends on having fair, up-to-date global animal health rules, which would provide our producers with a level playing field,” wrote the lawmakers, who asked Watson to inform their offices of his department’s progress by June 15.
U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) and U.S. Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) and Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA) joined Sen. Ernst in leading the letter, which is signed by 54 other congressional members.