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News Release 9-27-2002 |
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POULTRY RESTRICTIONS TO BE LIFTED Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass has announced that orders enacted earlier this year regarding the Avian Influenza (AI) outbreak will be lifted, effective October 1. The first order, dated April 26, banned the importation of poultry litter from Virginia. The second, dated May 8, prohibited the public display, sale or mingling of any live avian species or eggs. The orders were in response to a massive outbreak of AI in Virginia, which eventually led to the quarantine of approximately 150 poultry farms and the destruction of more than 5 million chickens and turkeys in that state. AI was also discovered on one West Virginia poultry farm near Moorefield. Approximately 14,000 birds were depopulated on that farm. AI, although harmless to humans, is extremely contagious among poultry, and causes severe production drops in eggs and weight gain. The West Virginia poultry industry adds $200 million to the state’s economy annually and employs more than 5,000 people. An extended AI outbreak could cripple the state’s ability to ship poultry out-of-state and overseas. |
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©2001, 2002 West Virginia Department of Agriculture, All Rights Reserved |
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