The U.S. is investing up to $1 billion to combat the spread of bird flu, which has resulted in the deaths of 166 million chickens since 2022, as well as infecting dairy herds and humans since early 2024. The Department of Agriculture will provide free biosecurity audits to farms and increased payment rates to farmers who need to kill their chickens due to bird flu. Some funding will come from cuts to USDA spending by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The USDA is exploring vaccines for chickens but has not yet authorized their use due to trade implications. The administration plans to increase imports and decrease exports of eggs to address record high prices, including importing 15,000 tons of eggs from Turkey. Previously, the Biden administration allocated over $800 million to combat bird flu in livestock, of which $450 million is still available.
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