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News Release 4-30-2002

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COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE HALTS VIRGINIA POULTRY LITTER IMPORTS

West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass has ordered that no poultry litter be imported from Virginia in order to protect the West Virginia poultry industry from an outbreak of Avian Influenza (AI). The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) has been monitoring trucks making deliveries to state poultry houses and has put a hold on all public poultry auctions.

According to the order, it is also illegal for anyone to apply previously delivered Virginia litter until it has been stockpiled and covered with an airtight covering for at least two weeks. Anyone violating the order is subject to a misdemeanor conviction, fine and possible jail time.

“This order is necessary to protect the West Virginia poultry industry from the AI situation in Virginia that has resulted in the destruction of more than two million birds in that state,” said Commissioner Douglass. “Given the importance of the Eastern Panhandle’s poultry industry to our economy, it is imperative that everyone observe this order and know that the WVDA will take every action to enforce it.”

The poultry industry in West Virginia adds $200 million to the state’s economy and provides jobs for more than 5,000 people.

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