Chief Patron: Landes
Co-Patron(s): Abbitt, Cox, Gilbert, Lewis, Lohr, Morgan, Saxman, Shannon
Virginia Poultry Disease Task Force

Item 95 #5h

Language
Page 81, line 35, strike "$4,865,303" and insert "$5,065,303".
Page 81, line 35, strike "$4,865,303" and insert "$5,065,303".

Explanation
(This amendment provides $200,000 each year from the general fund to support a robust program to test poultry for avian influenza (AI). Poultry is Virginia's largest agricultural sector, employing more than 10,000 persons and contributing more than $800 million annually to the Commonwealth's economy. AI is a serious threat to Virginia's poultry industry. In 2002, the Shenandoah Valley experience an outbreak of AI which cost more than $100.0 million to control and eradicate. Since that time, the poultry industry has worked closely with state and federal animal health officials to create the Virginia Poultry Disease Task Force (VPDTF) and develop both prevention and rapid response plans. An essential part of prevention is early detection through an effective system of surveillance. The VPDTF is in the process of expanding AI testing to enhance capabilities for early detection and requires funding to implement use of a more preventative testing strategy that detects avian influenza earlier.)