Pennsylvania law aims to protect domestic animals, food supply against disease

SB 979 amends Title 3 (Agriculture) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, adding a section that says the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture may require a dealer, agent or person that offers a domestic animal, commercial feed or pet food for sale to the public to provide a posted notice on the premises with information on a dangerous transmissible disease. This act shall take effect immediately.

The bill’s sponsor Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver (R-27) notes the passage of the law is timely as the nation is seeing the spread of avian influenza in cattle. There has been no spread reported in Pennsylvania at this time.

“I am grateful the governor signed this bill into law today,” Culver said. “It is a great step in securing the future of the livestock industry in Pennsylvania.”

“Biosecurity is important and spreading information is one of the strongest measures we can take to attempt to mitigate the spread of diseases. This law will allow the Department of Agriculture to get important information out to small livestock operations that otherwise may not know of an outbreak near them.”