On November 11, 2024, activists from In Defense of Animals and Free from Harm staged speakouts at the California Farm Bureau headquarters in Sacramento. We called for an end to animal agribusiness policies that exploit and kill animals and prioritize profits over public health, safety, and the environment, even with the looming threat of a bird flu pandemic.

Activists gathered to demand answers and raise the alarm over the devastating and rampant H5N1 bird flu outbreak, now infecting 688 dairy herds across 15 states, with California reporting the most cases (481). As of December 2, 240 new outbreaks were reported in California in the last 30 days. Activists learned in the meeting that half of the California dairy herds are now under quarantine.

The Cattle Health Task Force meeting was open to the public. It included California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) officials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Milk Producers Council, and the California State Veterinarian. When their questions were evaded and ignored, activists escalated by chanting, "Stop the bird flu bailouts, fund a plant-based food system!" — a rallying cry echoed at similar speakouts nationwide.

Infectious disease experts have long warned that bird flu could trigger the next pandemic, with mortality rates for humans of up to 50%. In June 2024, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control declared that a bird flu pandemic is not a question of if, but “a question of when.” Despite this, a CDFA representative in the meeting was recorded saying, "Our mission is to support and protect animal agriculture.”

Our Farmed Animals Campaigner, Lia Wilbourn, used her question in the meeting to highlight the inherent cruelty of animal agribusiness. “It’s no surprise that the industries that profit from slaughtering animals also endanger humans and the planet. Animal farming breeds superbugs, spreads zoonotic diseases that could trigger a pandemic worse than COVID-19, harms the environment, torments animals, and fuels the climate crisis. We're killing over 90 billion land animals for food products that nutrition experts state we don’t even need and can survive and thrive without.”

California, the epicenter of the U.S. bird flu outbreak, accounts for 29 of the nation's 55 human cases of infection. After raw milk was found to contain bird flu, a child in Alameda County tested positive on November 19. Animal agribusiness, the CDFA, and USDA are catastrophically failing to contain the biohazard, with infected dairy cow carcasses dumped on the roadside. Colorado is still the only state mandating weekly bird flu testing in dairy herds. 

Free from Harm founder, Robert Grillo said during his speaking opportunity, “CDFA leadership is putting corporate profits over public health, animals, and the planet. I applaud activists for confronting USDA officials at the meeting and urging them to shift from the disastrous policy of bailing out the bird flu-spreading dairy industry at any cost to transitioning to a humane, sustainable, slaughter-free, plant-based food system."

In Defense of Animals, Free from Harm, Our Honor, and other animal protection groups have also condemned Ventilation Shutdown, a horrific mass killing method used on over 100 million birds and 250,000 pigs in recent years. It cuts off oxygen and turns up heat in industrial farms, subjecting the animals to a slow, excruciating death. Are dairy cows next?

Regardless of how animals are killed, there is nothing humane about animal farming. We must advocate for both individual and systemic change by supporting grassroots activists who challenge the power holders of our food system — moving beyond greed and cruelty to embrace veganism, non-violence, and empathy for all.

Sign our alert to Congress and the USDA to take urgent action on bird flu.

Get our Free Vegan Guide.