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USDA approved for additional avian flu funds

turkeys

The USDA has been given the okay by the Office of Management and Budget to use an additional 330 million dollars in emergency funds to deal with the avian flu outbreak.

Dr. T.J. Myers with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) says the additional funds will be used to cover costs associated with bird disposal and the cleaning and disinfection of infected poultry facilities.  It will also help pay for indemnity claims filed by poultry farmers.

“The funds will support indemnity payments to producers whose flocks are affected—so that will cover the costs of birds that need to be depopulated,” Myers says. “We have in our authority and in our regulations the ability to pay for the fair market value of birds that need to be depopulated as part of a disease control effort.”

The 330 million will be added to the nearly 85 million previously set aside by the USDA for the outbreak.  If the total amount is utilized, it would be one of the largest sums the federal government has ever spent on a livestock disease outbreak.

AUDIO: Dr. T.J. Myers

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