Petition requests new rules regulating the transportation of poultry in Virginia
CURRENT STATUS: (Closed) Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services denied petition on December 7, 2023 during Board meeting.
August 1, 2023
Animal Partisan has filed an administrative petition with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) requesting that the agency pass new rules regulating the welfare of poultry during transportation within the state. VDACS is “responsible for the Commonwealth’s animal control, care and welfare mandates, as well as animal disease control, prevention and diagnostics.”
In 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture reported that over 312 million animals (not including fish) were used in agricultural operations in Virginia. Of these animals, 295 million were chickens and another 15 million were turkeys. Despite the astronomical numbers of poultry used in agriculture each year, there are virtually no laws designed to protect them. As such, countless birds are subject to abuse and neglect during transport, including being thrown, stuffed into cages, piled atop each other until they suffocate, and exposed to extreme heat and cold. Federal laws that purportedly regulate the welfare of animals in transport do not apply to poultry, such as chickens and turkeys. State laws, including anti-cruelty laws, are very rarely enforced as applied to chickens, turkeys, and other birds exploited in agriculture. One exception to this underenforcement was the conviction of several Tyson Foods workers in 2017 based on conduct documented on video during an Animal Outlook undercover investigation. Notably, in 2022, Animal Outlook released another investigation depicting the neglect of even more chickens at another Tyson Foods factory farm. But these convictions generally related to conduct occurring on the factory farm and not during transportation which is the focus of Animal Partisan’s petition.
The petition for rulemaking, filed pursuant to state law that allows “any person” to request an agency of the government to pass or amend rules, urges Virginia to follow the lead of states such as Connecticut, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and New Jersey, and pass laws specifically intended to reduce the suffering of poultry at transport. Specifically, the petition asks the agency to prohibit acts of abuse and neglect that regularly happen during loading such as holding birds upside down or by the wings, throwing birds, or loading wet birds for long transports. The petition further urges the agency to ensure proper ventilation and temperature control during transport, as well as ensuring that the birds’ enclosures allow sufficient space and are free of hazards.
By Virginia law, VDACS must consider the petition and allow an opportunity for public comment. Members of the public interested in supporting this petition can locate the petition here at Virginia’s Regulatory Townhall online and leave comments in favor of the proposal.
View a copy of the petition HERE.
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