Hearth & Haven Letter to the USDA

1/25/2023

Dear Ms. Rudyj,

Thank you very much for your reply. I appreciate your taking the time to clearly reiterate the USDA’s position on the matter, and would like to take this opportunity to address a few questions your reply has raised.

Compensation for feed following cull for HPAI

You mentioned compensation opportunities for feed, and I would love to learn more, please. As reported to our WSDA and USDA contacts here in the field, we had fourteen 40-pound sacks of organic Scratch & Peck layer feed (total of 560lbs) open at the time of the cull. We were told that would be eligible for compensation and requested more information, but we haven’t been able to obtain any guidance on how to move forward. How do we go about filing a claim for that?

We also have almost 5 tons of unopened layer feed (worth about $10,000) in storage, which we understand is held under quarantine and cannot be used, sold, given away, or disposed of in a normal landfill. Unfortunately, that feed will expire in June.
Layer feed is nutritionally inappropriate for young ducks, with protein too low and calcium too high for proper growth and organ development. Even if we restock with poultry immediately after the quarantine period ends, the young ducks would not be old enough to switch to that layer ration until November at the very earliest (next March would be more likely). So in reality, while the feed would be released from quarantine at the end of April, there is zero chance of our being able to use it. It is an absolute and total loss for us. How can we file a claim for compensation for that feed?

All in all, the roughly $6,500 the USDA is currently offering in indemnity is completely inadequate when compared to the financial loss our business is experiencing as a direct result of the USDA-mandated cull. 90% of our birds survived the infection, and we could have resumed operation if we had been allowed to quarantine. Instead, we have lost everything from our 5-year breeding program, are suffering a 4-month shutdown of our operation, have $10,000 of layer feed that will expire before it can be used, and even if we re-stocked immediately post-quarantine we would still face a year of expenses such as feed, water, electricity, bedding, and labor before new birds could be raised to point-of-lay – all with zero income.
I would not consider that adequate compensation for our small business.

Poultry disease resistance

I would like to address your claim that “no poultry breeds or species have been determined to be resistant.” I am sure that researchers at the USDA have access to more and better data than I do as a private citizen and farmer. However, even I can see that study after study has shown that some species, some breeds, and even some different lines of breeding within a single group unequivocally show a genetic component to HPAI resistance that is present in some birds and not in others.
Please see the following sample of studies showing genetic resistance to HPAI in some breeds:

“Among these breeds, Chee, Dang, and LHK showed significantly longer survival times than White Leghorns. Virus shedding from dead Thai indigenous chickens was significantly lower than that from White Leghorns”
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0153649

“This study confirms that resistance to HPAI is a complex, polygenic trait and that mechanisms of resistance may be population specific”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579119304390

“Resistant Ri chickens showed higher antiviral activity compared to susceptible Ri chickens”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9271386/

Even NPR notes that egg laying chickens are more susceptible than broilers:
“This version of the influenza virus doesn't affect "broilers" — chickens raised for meat — as badly it does "layers" — table-egg laying hens — and turkeys.”
https://www.npr.org/2022/12/02/1140076426/what-we-know-about-the-deadliest-u-s-bird-flu-outbreak-in-history

This has been studied so well, in fact, genetic resistance to HPAI has even been found in mice:
“Although viral factors almost certainly play a role in limiting human infection and disease, host genetics most likely contribute substantially.”
https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/JVI.00514-09

Why bother seeking genetic resistance? Studies has found that not only do resistant birds fail to show as many symptoms, they shed the virus less and can therefore break the chain of infection:
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/news/2016/07/genetic-resistance-offers-potential-breeding-solution-to-bird-flu

Taking it further, several studies already outline exactly how we can approach breeding birds for H5N1 resistance:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0026893310010061
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/4/11/3179

Genetic modification may help us get there even sooner:
“The generation of IAV-resistant chickens through genetic modification and/or selective breeding may help prevent viral spread.”
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/10/10/561

Vaccination for HPAI in poultry

Your letter also stated that “They have also researched vaccines and treatment for avian influenza, but currently, no effective treatment exists.”
I respectfully disagree, the research I see indicates that vaccines are very effective. You are absolutely correct that some existing single-dose vaccines can, especially in ducks, still allow hosts to shed virus in laboratory environments. However, there has been wonderfully promising research into a combination approach. A combination of already-existing vaccines, each designed to combat a different strain of the virus, provides much more comprehensive protection and could indeed be protective enough to meet the USDA's standards: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31251524/

Zoetis, Merck, and Ceva all manufacture H5N1 vaccines that show great promise. Ceva’s even offers 80-100% protection against the virus, and can be delivered in-ovo to ensure immediate protection: https://www.poultryworld.net/health-nutrition/study-hatchery-vaccine-80-100-effective-against-h5n1/

No single vaccine is perfect, of course, as we all know through human flu and COVID vaccines. But they should absolutely be a key component of our approach to handling this disease. Dismissing vaccines entirely is short-sighted and unhelpful. A simple look at the number of reported cases and at the high egg prices and empty shelves in the grocery store shows clearly that this elimination-only approach simply isn't working.

As this paper argues, "Vaccination needs to be implemented as part of a comprehensive control strategy that also includes biosecurity, surveillance, education and elimination of infected poultry.": https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255690584_Vaccination_of_domestic_ducks_against_H5N1_HPAI_A_review

And this study from as far back as 2012 makes it quite clear that our current elimination-only approach has been failing for over a decade:
“Conventional control strategies in poultry based on surveillance, stamping out, movement restriction and enforcement of biosecurity measures did not prevent the virus spreading…The use of antiviral chemotherapy and natural compounds, avian-cytokines, RNA interference, genetic breeding and/or development of transgenic poultry warrant further evaluation as integrated intervention strategies for control of HPAIV H5N1 in poultry.”
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/4/11/3179

All together, this data clearly demonstrates clearly that a reactive policy that relies on culling alone is outdated and ineffective, that genetic resistance IS present in some populations and not others, and that both breeding for resistant birds and pursuing vaccination of our nation’s poultry flocks will better protect both farmers and the public.

The United States Department of Agriculture simply must change their HPAI strategy immediately.

Why preventative measures like vaccination are necessary

On the ground, the current elimination-only policy is not only ineffective, it’s dangerous. It is breeding mistrust and is terrible for the department’s public relations. Dozens of farmers and smallholders have told us in confidence that, having seen the devastating personal and financial fallout from the USDA’s elimination-only policy, they would choose not to report sick birds if their flock was affected.

Indemnity and compensation is so inadequate and the response so heavy-handed, it’s simply not worth it for many farmers to report. This will inevitably make it increasingly difficult for the US to track and manage not only HPAI, but future outbreaks, as farmers lose trust in the government’s response.

This policy is also demonstrably not achieving its aim of controlling the spread of HPAI. As stated in your email, the current outbreak is unprecedented in scope. The spread of this infection across 47 states – and much of the world - clearly demonstrates that an elimination-focused approach has not been working, and that we need to pursue alternative strategies.

We understand that the United States has avoided using vaccines against HPAI in an attempt to protect international trade, since there is a fear that antibodies produced by vaccines may be impossible to distinguish from HPAI infection during food safety testing. However, as countries from Mexico to the European Union are now agreeing to a vaccination strategy, this argument is rapidly losing its validity. Further, as some locations like China, Hong Kong, and Egypt have shown, widespread vaccine adoption can be an overall boon to the economy and to national food security, as poultry production rises and farmers are protected from losses on the scale we are seeing right now.

More importantly, our vaccination strategy doesn’t need to apply to all birds, just the most vulnerable. Meat chickens, for example, are slaughtered so young that their likelihood of contracting HPAI is very low. An elimination-only approach may continue to be appropriate in broilers, while longer-lived turkeys and/or laying hens are vaccinated and monitored more closely.

Vaccines can also be encouraged among small farms who deal in domestic trade only, like ours, and among backyard flocks that have potential contact with migratory waterfowl. This approach would protect our international trade, save millions of domestic birds who would otherwise be slaughtered, safeguard millions of wild birds from catching HPAI from domestic flocks, and defend our nation’s domestic food supply. 

Requested actions

We would like to request information on how we can apply for compensation for both the 560lbs of open feed and just under 5 tons of unopened feed that are now unusable due to the USDA-imposed quarantine.

We would also like to request that the information provided above on vaccine effectiveness and the known presence of genetic resistance to HPAI be shared with as many researchers and policymakers as possible.

Finally, we would like to request more information on how we can drive these badly needed policy changes in the USDA. Who can we contact, and what is the best way to get this information into the hands of those who can alter cull and quarantine guidelines, fund research into HPAI prevention, improve the indemnity and compensation offered to affected farmers, and change the current USDA policies regarding this disease?

Thank you very much for your time,
--Elaine Kellner

Hearth & Haven Farm