ATLANTA — 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.”

Not changing the definition will result in a negative trade impact for Georgia’s poultry industry when a backyard or similar flock, never intended for international trade, tests positive for HPAI, Harper and others said. He added that the overly broad definition 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.

“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 Janemarie Hennebelle, Georgia State Veterinarian. “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, a bipartisan group of US Senators and Representatives sent a letter to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Administrator Michael Watson, urging action on the matter. The letter was signed by Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Representatives Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.).

The letter states that 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. 

Several organizations and companies supported the letter and bipartisan effort, including the Alabama Contract Poultry Growers Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, Amlan International, Cantrell Mechanical Solutions, Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper, Georgia Farm Bureau, Georgia Poultry Federation, JBS Foods/Pilgrim’s Pride, Mar-Jac Poultry, National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, US Animal Health Association, US Poultry and Egg Association, and Wayne-Sanderson Farms.