Conaway Disappointed in Organic Animal Welfare Rule

Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service release of its new organic animal welfare standards.

“I am disappointed to see yet another controversial rule pushed through during the final hours of the Obama administration. Not only do animal welfare standards go beyond the scope of the National Organic Program, the requirements regarding expanded outdoor access for poultry fly in the face of lessons learned from the recent and devastating outbreak of HPAI, and are particularly concerning given the detection of the virus in a wild duck in Montana earlier this month. I hope that the incoming Administration will immediately withdraw this rule, but stand ready with my colleagues on the Hill to roll back the regulation if necessary.”