SAVE Our Poultry Act
The SAVE Our Poultry Act would add highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as a high-priority area for research and extension under the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990. Specifically, it would authorize land-grant colleges and universities to receive research and extension grants to study HPAI with a dual focus: (1) vaccines for poultry—covering effectiveness across poultry species, vaccine formulations, delivery methods, and the potential impact of vaccination on domestic and international poultry markets and trade; and (2) enhanced biosecurity—covering training and practices for producers, farm-level interventions, and the development of new disinfection methods. The bill is titled the Supporting Avian Virus Eradication Act (SAVE Our Poultry Act) and was introduced in the House on April 10, 2025. In short, the bill expands federal support for HPAI research and practical on-farm protections by explicitly adding HPAI to the set of high-priority topics eligible for grant funding to land-grant institutions, with an emphasis on vaccines and biosecurity measures.
Key Points
- 1Adds highly pathogenic avian influenza as a high-priority research and extension area under the 1990 Act.
- 2Grants would be available to land-grant colleges and universities (as defined in the policy act governing extension services) to study HPAI.
- 3Vaccine-focused aims (under the “A” portion) include: assessing vaccine effectiveness across poultry species, improving formulations, improving delivery methods, and evaluating how vaccination may affect domestic and international poultry markets and trade access.
- 4Biosecurity-focused aims (under the “B” portion) include: evaluating and improving training and biosecurity practices, enhancing farm-level interventions, and developing new disinfection methods.
- 5Short title of the bill is the SAVE Our Poultry Act, also known as the Supporting Avian Virus Eradication Act; introduced April 10, 2025, and referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.