August 18, 2020

USDA sued for incentivising mass cullling of chickens, turkeys

Farm Sanctuary, a  US farm animal sanctuary and advocacy organisation, sued the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to challenge its plan for controlling and responding to highly infectious avian influenza, Farm Sanctuary announced in late-July.

The organisation cited a 2015 outbreak of bird flu that led to the depopulation of approximately 50 million chickens and turkeys in 15 US states and the expenditure of roughly US$850 million in taxpayer funds to try to contain the disease. Farm Sanctuary has labeled the move  as a "mass killing."

Farm Sanctuary and Mercy for Animals joined the federal lawsuit, which was originally brought by the Humane Society of the United States, filing an amended complaint in Los Angeles on July 27. The plaintiffs are accusing USDA, which spent approximately US$200 million to reimburse companies for the 2015 culling, of incentivising the cruel confinement of birds in factory farms and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.

"More than four million cases and 146,000 deaths in the US from COVID-19 should be reason enough for USDA to stop funneling money into factory farming, which is a breeding ground for disease and increases risks for highly infectious zoonotic outbreaks like COVID-19," said Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary. "Giving birds more space to move and engage in the barest minimum of natural behaviors is not only the right thing to do, it could potentially save hundreds of thousands of human lives and billions in taxpayer dollars."

The lawsuit seeks to require the USDA to consider a plan to prevent another bird flu outbreak by tying federal funds to the adoption of production systems that would give birds more space and reduce the likelihood of a disease outbreak. The suit also demands that the agency be required to take an in-depth look at adverse environmental consequences of its plan by preparing an Environmental Impact Statement as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

Farm Sanctuary also accused the USDA of encouraging factory farms to confine animals in stressful, overcrowded conditions that impact the environment and are ideal for the spread of disease.

"When infections proliferate, taxpayer funds are used for the mass killing of birds through grossly inhumane methods, and their bodies are buried in unlined pits or incinerated," Farm Sanctuary said.

- Farm Sanctuary