The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced an interim final rule to strengthen efforts against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
Poultry facilities must now pass a biosecurity audit before restocking after an HPAI detection or receiving future indemnity payments. This rule also applies to farms in buffer zones, requiring audits before moving poultry. Indemnity will not cover flocks infected within 14 days of a control area’s dissolution, and non-compliance with audit recommendations will disqualify farms from future payments during the same outbreak. These measures emphasize biosecurity as a key to combating HPAI.
Comments are being accepted until March 3 on the rule at www.regulations.gov.
