Brooks Animal Law Digest

House Resolution 9309 would amend the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to provide greater protection for roosters used in animal fighting ventures, criminalize simulcasting animal fights, and authorize citizen suits to enjoin “any person” who is alleged to be in violation of the animal fighting section of the federal law. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Senator Cory Booker announced the Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act of 2022, which would impose multiple reforms, including by:

• Requiring industrial operators to register high-risk CAFOs, submit disaster preparedness plans, and pay to cover the costs of preparing for and responding to disaster events;
• Ensuring that industrial operators aren’t using the worst depopulation and slaughter practices, including dangerously fast line-speed increases and self-inspection programs;
• Amending the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act to include poultry, with a 10-year phase in and grants provided to assist transitions to controlled atmosphere stunning systems;
• Creating new protections for nonambulatory (downer) pigs at slaughter;
• Amending the 28-Hour Law to include new protections for animals during transport; and
• Prohibiting the use of prison labor during disaster events.

The bill has not yet been assigned a number or a committee.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an amended version of The Child Nutrition Act of 2022 (Assembly Bill 558). The original text of the bill incentivized public elementary and high schools across the state to offer healthier, climate-friendly, plant-based meals and beverages. Those incentives were excluded from the final bill text.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2344, the “Safe Roads and Wildlife Protection Act,” which requires the California Department of Transportation, in consultation with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, to identify barriers to wildlife movement and prioritize crossing structures when building or improving roadways. According to UC Davis, California experienced more than 44,000 wildlife-vehicle collisions from 2016 to 2020, resulting in injuries and deaths to both drivers and wildlife and causing at least $1 billion in damage.

Three meat-packing employees filed a class-action antitrust lawsuit alleging that the majority of the largest meatpacking companies in the U.S. have conspired to keep workers' wages low in order to control costs since at least 2014. Defendants include JBS USA Food Company, Smithfield Foods, Inc., Cargill Inc., Hormel Foods Corp., Triumph Foods, LLC, American Foods Group, LLC, Perdue Farms, Inc., and several of their subsidiaries that collectively produce about 80% of the beef and pork sold to U.S. consumers. The lawsuit also names two consulting companies as defendants. Plaintiffs are seeking declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, and damages.

A California federal judge who vacated Trump administration actions to weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA) earlier this year restored the regulations and remanded the action back to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS). The order follows a Ninth Circuit ruling that Judge Jon Tigar “clearly erred” in vacating the ESA rollbacks without weighing their legal merits. The rollbacks included rules allowing FWS to consider the economic impact when deciding whether to list an imperiled species under the ESA.

Two officials of the Cambodian Forestry Administration, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; the owner/founder of a major primate supply organization and its general manager; and four of its employees all have been indicted for smuggling and conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act. The indictments are in connection with an alleged scheme to traffic wild long-tailed macaques into the United States. The eight-count indictment further alleges that two of the defendants owned and managed a series of related corporations that conspired with black market collectors and officials in Cambodia to acquire wild-caught macaques and launder them through the Cambodian entities for export to the U.S. and elsewhere, falsely labelled as captive bred. 

Animal Partisan filed a private criminal complaint urging a Virginia Magistrate to issue a warrant for animal cruelty against Gentle Harvest Custom Processing slaughterhouse, its plant manager, and an employee. The complaint stems from an October 7, 2022, incident in which a U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service inspector assigned to the Winchester slaughterhouse witnessed a plant employee shoot a pig four times in the head.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the agency has completed its first pre-market consultation for a human food made from cultured animal cells. UPSIDE Foods became the first company in the world to receive a "No Questions" letter from the FDA for cultivated meat, poultry, or seafood. The letter signals that the FDA has accepted UPSIDE's conclusion that its cultivated chicken is safe to eat.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published notice of its intent to close an Endangered Species Act (ESA) loophole that currently allows the import, export, and other forms of trade in live African elephants without a permit. The proposed 4(d) rule revisions would additionally clarify the enhancement requirements that FWS imposes during its evaluation of applications for ESA permits to import African elephant sport-hunted trophies. FWS will accept public comments on the proposed ESA rule revisions through January 17, 2023.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Harvard Animal Law & Policy Clinic, Miami Waterkeeper, Save the Manatee Club, and Frank S. González García petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to increase protections for West Indian manatees. The petition urges FWS to uplist the species from threatened to endangered under the Endangered Species Act following an ongoing mortality event that killed more than 1,110 Florida manatees in 2021 alone.

House Resolution 5441, the “Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act of 2022,” would amend the Horse Protection Act to designate additional unlawful acts under the Act, strengthen penalties for violations of the Act, and improve U.S. Department of Agriculture enforcement of the Act for purposes of preventing horse soring. The bill passed the House and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

House Resolution 9309 would amend the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to provide greater protection for roosters used in animal fighting ventures, criminalize simulcasting animal fights, and authorize citizen suits to enjoin “any person” who is alleged to be in violation of the animal fighting section of the federal law. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Senator Cory Booker announced the Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act of 2022, which would impose multiple reforms, including by:

• Requiring industrial operators to register high-risk CAFOs, submit disaster preparedness plans, and pay to cover the costs of preparing for and responding to disaster events;
• Ensuring that industrial operators aren’t using the worst depopulation and slaughter practices, including dangerously fast line-speed increases and self-inspection programs;
• Amending the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act to include poultry, with a 10-year phase in and grants provided to assist transitions to controlled atmosphere stunning systems;
• Creating new protections for nonambulatory (downer) pigs at slaughter;
• Amending the 28-Hour Law to include new protections for animals during transport; and
• Prohibiting the use of prison labor during disaster events.

The bill has not yet been assigned a number or a committee.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an amended version of The Child Nutrition Act of 2022 (Assembly Bill 558). The original text of the bill incentivized public elementary and high schools across the state to offer healthier, climate-friendly, plant-based meals and beverages. Those incentives were excluded from the final bill text.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 971, which amends the Health and Safety Code to require public housing to be companion animal-friendly and prohibit the imposition of monthly maintenance fees for residents who reside with their companion animals. The bill applies to any public housing funded on or after January 1, 2023.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2380, which prohibits online pet retailers from offering loan or financing programs to buyers.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1648, which requires kennel owners to create natural disaster evacuation plans for animals and submit such plans to the relevant municipality as a condition of the kennel’s license or permit to operate.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2344, the “Safe Roads and Wildlife Protection Act,” which requires the California Department of Transportation, in consultation with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, to identify barriers to wildlife movement and prioritize crossing structures when building or improving roadways. According to UC Davis, California experienced more than 44,000 wildlife-vehicle collisions from 2016 to 2020, resulting in injuries and deaths to both drivers and wildlife and causing at least $1 billion in damage.

Illinois Senate Bill 4237 would amend the Grade A Pasteurized Milk and Milk Products Act to allow dairy farms to sell, distribute, or offer to sell or distribute unpasteurized milk or milk products for human use or consumption without a Department of Public Health permit if the animal that produces the milk or milk product is housed at the dairy farm. The bill has been referred to the Senate Assignments Committee.

Montana LC 377 would establish certain inspection exemptions and update regulatory oversight of custom exempt facilities to match Federal Meat Inspection Act requirements. 

Texas House Bill 736 would amend the state’s penal code relating to the offense of cruelty to nonlivestock animals by reducing the requisite mens rea from “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly,” to “with criminal negligence.”

Texas House Bill 598 would amend the state’s penal code to permanently prohibit individuals who have been convicted of federal or state animal cruelty-related offenses from owning or living with animals. If enacted, the law would take effect on September 1, 2023.

Montana L.C. 373 would amend the state’s Meat and Poultry Inspection Act by revising the definition of “livestock” to exclude rabbits and “alternative livestock”––defined as “caribou, white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, moose, antelope, mountain sheep, or mountain goat indigenous to the state of Montana.”

Montana L.C. 376 would make it illegal to feed garbage to swine. However, the bill exempts “waste products that do not contain animal products” from the definition of garbage.

The General Court of New Hampshire published notice of multiple bills that will be considered in the 2023 legislative session, including: HB 2023-239, which would establish certification requirements for animal chiropractors; HB 2023-246, which would establish a committee to study best practices for animal groomers; HB 2023-268, which would prohibit drivers from operating motor vehicles with an animal on their laps; and 2023-357, which would establish deputy animal control officers. The bills’ texts have not yet been made publicly available.

The General Court of New Hampshire will consider multiple agriculture-related bills in the 2023 legislative session, including HB 2023-104, which would expand the exemption of custom slaughtering from state inspections, and HB 2023-358, which would exempt agricultural operations from certain municipal noise ordinances. The texts of the bills have not yet been made publicly available.

St. Landry Parish, Louisiana is considering sweeping animal control ordinance updates that would, among other changes, set standards for the lawful tethering of dogs; prohibit the tethering of horses, donkeys, or mules; require livestock to be kept in sanitary conditions; authorize the locality to impound “noticeably lame, ill, sore, or sick” animals at horseshows, rodeos, and parades; prohibit inhumane transport of animals; and subject breeders to semi-annual inspections. The Parish Council will vote on the proposed changes on December 21, 2022.

Three meat-packing employees filed a class-action antitrust lawsuit alleging that the majority of the largest meatpacking companies in the U.S. have conspired to keep workers' wages low in order to control costs since at least 2014. Defendants include JBS USA Food Company, Smithfield Foods, Inc., Cargill Inc., Hormel Foods Corp., Triumph Foods, LLC, American Foods Group, LLC, Perdue Farms, Inc., and several of their subsidiaries that collectively produce about 80% of the beef and pork sold to U.S. consumers. The lawsuit also names two consulting companies as defendants. Plaintiffs are seeking declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, and damages.

New Jersey herring fishers petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a Magnuson-Stevens Act rule requiring domestic vessels to pay the salaries of at-sea monitors and urged the high court to take down the long-standing Chevron doctrine requiring judges to defer to agency expertise.

Elyria, Ohio, a Cleveland-area municipality, has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit brought against the city by the United States and the state of Ohio over the city’s purported violations of the federal Clean Water Act and relevant state regulations. The city has agreed to spend an estimated $248 million on projects following allegations that it improperly discharged untreated sewage into the Black River, which flows into Lake Erie and provides habitat for salmonids and other aquatic life. Elyria also will pay a $100,000 civil penalty to the U.S. and $100,000 to Ohio's Surface Water Improvement Fund.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear StarKist Co.’s appeal of a lower court's decision that let three groups of tuna purchasers receive class action status to jointly sue the Dongwon Industries-owned canned tuna company for alleged price fixing. The litigation follows a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into a conspiracy by U.S. suppliers of packaged tuna, including StarKist, and Bumble Bee Foods to fix prices in violation of criminal antitrust laws. StarKist pleaded guilty, admitting to having fixed the prices of canned tuna from as early as November 2011 through at least as late as December 2013, and was sentenced in 2019 to a $100 million fine. Bumble Bee and three industry executives also pleaded guilty. Former Bumble Bee CEO Christopher Lischewski was convicted at trial and sentenced in 2020 to forty months in prison.

Nine advocacy groups and the Quinault Indian Nation asked a federal judge to invalidate a nationwide permit that they say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) improperly issued to allow industrial fish farm structures in state and federal ocean waters around the country. Plaintiffs allege the ACE did not have the authority to issue Nationwide Permit 56 (NWP 56) and failed to consider a wide range of adverse impacts the structures and their aquaculture operations would have on everything from marine life and water quality to essential fish habitat and coastal communities. Issuance of NWP 56 marks the first time the ACE has issued a nationwide permit for industrial finfish aquaculture development in United States waters on the Outer Continental Shelf. Plaintiffs are represented by the Center for Food Safety and Recirculating Farms Coalition.

A Michigan federal judge indefinitely extended a decades-old agreement governing tribal fishing in the Great Lakes, as three years of negotiations over a new consent decree failed to reach an agreement by the pact's November 14, 2022 expiration date. U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney found that extension of the consent decree was “necessary to protect the natural resources subject thereto” while the parties work out what reportedly has become a stalemate between one tribe and the State of Michigan in the talks for a new agreement over-fishing rules.

The National Wildlife Refuge Association, National Parks Conservation Association, Defenders of Wildlife, and Center for Biological Diversity challenged a decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) to reinstate jurisdictional determinations that removed Clean Water Act protections from almost 550 acres of wetlands on the doorstep of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. The conservation groups argue that the ACE’s action opens wetlands that are critical to the health of the iconic Okefenokee Swamp to destruction by a strip-mining operation. Plaintiffs are represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center.

A California federal judge who vacated Trump administration actions to weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA) earlier this year restored the regulations and remanded the action back to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS). The order follows a Ninth Circuit ruling that Judge Jon Tigar “clearly erred” in vacating the ESA rollbacks without weighing their legal merits. The rollbacks included rules allowing FWS to consider the economic impact when deciding whether to list an imperiled species under the ESA.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Tropical Audubon Society, and the Miami Blue Chapter of the North American Butterfly Association sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to push the agency to protect endangered Miami tiger beetles by designating lifesaving critical habitat. The proposed critical habitat includes areas in the pine rocklands of Miami-Dade County, which plaintiffs allege are under imminent threat from development.

A Cuban citizen residing in Wisconsin was indicted for multiple alleged violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that Jorge Luis Iglesias sold Yellow-faced Grassquits in violation of federal law.

Two officials of the Cambodian Forestry Administration, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; the owner/founder of a major primate supply organization and its general manager; and four of its employees all have been indicted for smuggling and conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act. The indictments are in connection with an alleged scheme to traffic wild long-tailed macaques into the United States. The eight-count indictment further alleges that two of the defendants owned and managed a series of related corporations that conspired with black market collectors and officials in Cambodia to acquire wild-caught macaques and launder them through the Cambodian entities for export to the U.S. and elsewhere, falsely labelled as captive bred. 

Center for Food Safety, Food & Water Watch, Healthy Gulf, Recirculating Farms Coalition, Sierra Club, Suncoast Waterkeeper and Tampa Bay Waterkeeper filed a petition for review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) issuance of a permit to Ocean Era, Inc. for an offshore aquaculture facility to be constructed and operated in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Petitioners argue that the EPA violated federal law by failing to conduct a legally compliant environmental impact review.

A D.C. federal judge has given the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) two years to update its Atlantic lobster fishery regulations to adequately protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale, aiming to both save the whales and avoid a massive lobster industry shutdown that might otherwise occur. NMFS’ deadline to finalize a new Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan Amendment Rule is December 9, 2024. Grocery retailer Whole Foods recently announced it would stop purchasing lobster from the Gulf of Maine starting in December. The decision followed Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch demoting Maine lobster to “red” avoid status and the Marine Stewardship Council revoking its sustainability label after determining that the lobster fishery and rules from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were not doing enough to protect the remaining 340 North Atlantic right whales.

Chick-Fil-A reached a settlement with Tyson Foods, Inc. and its subsidiaries resolving the fast-food chain’s claims that Tyson conspired with other food producers to fix and inflate broiler chicken prices. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, but U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Durkin entered a stipulated order for dismissal with prejudice in the case on November 18, 2022.

Southern Cross Seafood, a Texas fish importer, asked the U.S. Court of International Trade to expedite its case alleging that the U.S. illegally blocked its shipment of Patagonian toothfish (more commonly known as Chilean sea bass), arguing it will suffer “extraordinary hardship” if the case isn’t expedited. The suit alleges the National Marine Fisheries Service improperly created a de facto embargo and that “neither Southern Cross nor any other company will be able to import Patagonian toothfish … from [the relevant area] into the United States through at least the end of the 2022/23 fishing season.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to fulfill its mandatory duties to protect endangered species from the highly toxic insecticide cyantraniliprole. The order requires the agency to put protective measures in place by September 2023 and submit status reports every sixty days.

Animal Partisan filed a private criminal complaint urging a Virginia Magistrate to issue a warrant for animal cruelty against Gentle Harvest Custom Processing slaughterhouse, its plant manager, and an employee. The complaint stems from an October 7, 2022, incident in which a U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service inspector assigned to the Winchester slaughterhouse witnessed a plant employee shoot a pig four times in the head.

The National Marine Fisheries Service announced it has completed an Endangered Species Act (ESA) status review for the shortfin mako shark and determined that listing the shortfin mako shark as a threatened or endangered species under the ESA is not warranted at this time.

The National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published notice that they jointly are preparing an environmental impact statement for the North Cascades Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan to determine how to restore the grizzly bear to the North Cascades ecosystem. NPS and FWS will accept public comments through December 14, 2022.

The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced it has ended the remaining two finfish net pen aquaculture leases on Washington’s state-owned aquatic lands. Cooke Aquaculture’s existing net pen leases, which were the only ones in Washington, expired in November 2022 after more than a decade of operations. Washington DNR’s decision effectively ends pen aquaculture in the state’s waters.

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has received a request from the U.S. Navy for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the replacement of Pier 302 at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego Bay, California. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on the proposed MMPA authorization through December 15, 2022.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. is recalling approximately 93,697 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with reflective mirror-like material. The items were shipped to retail locations in Texas.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the agency has completed its first pre-market consultation for a human food made from cultured animal cells. UPSIDE Foods became the first company in the world to receive a "No Questions" letter from the FDA for cultivated meat, poultry, or seafood. The letter signals that the FDA has accepted UPSIDE's conclusion that its cultivated chicken is safe to eat.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published notice of its intent to close an Endangered Species Act (ESA) loophole that currently allows the import, export, and other forms of trade in live African elephants without a permit. The proposed 4(d) rule revisions would additionally clarify the enhancement requirements that FWS imposes during its evaluation of applications for ESA permits to import African elephant sport-hunted trophies. FWS will accept public comments on the proposed ESA rule revisions through January 17, 2023.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the availability of a document entitled “Draft Amended Environmental Assessment for Production of AquAdvantage Salmon at the Bay Fortune and Rollo Bay Facilities on Prince Edward Island, Canada.” This draft amended environmental assessment (EA) has been prepared by the FDA in support of the approved new animal drug application (NADA 141-454) concerning AquAdvantage Salmon, a genetically engineered Atlantic salmon. FDA will accept public comments on the EA through January 17, 2023.

Senator Chris Coons and Senator Roger Wicker, co-chairs of the Senate Chicken Caucus, are asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to extend the public comment period on proposed regulatory revisions under the Packers and Stockyards Act by three months to allow “stakeholders and constituents” more time to study the rule. A bipartisan group of 17 other senators also signed onto the letter.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition with the California Fish and Game Commission to protect greater sage grouse in the state under the California Endangered Species Act. The petition documents that most of the greater sage grouse populations in California are in imminent danger of being eliminated.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has received applications to register pesticide products containing active ingredients not included in any currently registered pesticide products. Pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the EPA is providing the public an opportunity to comment on these applications through December 19, 2022.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has received multiple applications to conduct certain otherwise prohibited activities with foreign species that are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Applicants include the Smithsonian National Zoo, Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center and New York State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey, Safari Wild Animal Park in Missouri, trophy hunter Russell Kimbrell of Texas, Audubon Nature Institute, and Safari Game Search Foundation in Oregon. FWS will accept public comments on the ESA permit applications through December 21, 2022.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a public meeting entitled “Animal Drug User Fee Act” to discuss proposed recommendations for the reauthorization of the Animal Drug User Fee Act for fiscal years 2024 through 2028. The meeting will take place virtually on December 7, 2022, and the FDA will accept written comments through December 19, 2022.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Harvard Animal Law & Policy Clinic, Miami Waterkeeper, Save the Manatee Club, and Frank S. González García petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to increase protections for West Indian manatees. The petition urges FWS to uplist the species from threatened to endangered under the Endangered Species Act following an ongoing mortality event that killed more than 1,110 Florida manatees in 2021 alone.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that it is revising its proposed designation of critical habitat for the Florida bonneted bat under the Endangered Species Act. FWS is proposing to designate approximately 1,174,011 acres in thirteen Florida counties as critical habitat for the species. FWS is accepting public comments through January 23, 2023, on the proposed habitat designation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced it intends to change its method of sampling domestic beef manufacturing trimmings and bench trim for adulterant Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella on February 1, 2023. The agency reports that “the cloth sampling method is faster and safer for FSIS inspection program personnel (IPP) to use because it does not require IPP to use hooks or knives to collect samples. Moreover, the cloth sampling method allows FSIS to sample without destroying product, which reduces food waste.” FSIS will accept public comments on the proposed change through January 23, 2023.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that it is listing two Distinct Population Segments (DPS) of the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). FWS is listing the Southern DPS of the lesser prairie-chicken as endangered and the Northern DPS as threatened. The new ESA rule will become effective January 24, 2023.

The 19th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora has concluded. Significant developments include rejection of a proposal to resume the ivory and rhinoceros horn trade and new CITES protections for multiple reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Notably, almost all species involved in the global shark fin trade will be protected, representing a 70% increase in protected shark species.

Avian flu has killed more than 50.54 million chickens, turkeys, and other birds in the United States in 2022, representing the worst outbreak of avian flu in history. The U.S. outbreak affected birds across 46 states; but Europe and Britain are also suffering their worst avian-flu crises, and some British supermarkets have even begun rationing eggs.