Dear John,

Factory farms create perfect breeding grounds for zoonoses, infectious diseases
caused by pathogens that jump from animals to people. Filthy, crowded conditions
enable viruses and other pathogens to easily mutate and multiply. Picked up and
carried by workers, insects, and rodents, such pathogens can spread to nearby
communities and trigger pandemics. A lawsuit we recently joined alleges that the
United States Department of Agriculture has an inadequate response plan for one
such zoonotic disease.

Originally filed by the Humane Society of the United States, the lawsuit
challenges the USDA's current response plan for avian influenza ("bird flu") as
shortsighted and dangerous, lacking proactive measures to stop the next
inevitable outbreak before it starts. Mercy For Animals joined the lawsuit along
with Farm Sanctuary to urge the USDA to prepare a full environmental impact
statement. And we need your support.

When you donate today, you will be supporting our litigation work and all our
other programs to build a more compassionate world for all.

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The federal government should prevent the development and spread of dangerous
zoonotic viruses. Simple measures like limiting the confinement of animals in
factory farms, banning cages for egg-laying hens, and lowering the number of
animals allowed to be kept in the same facility could help prevent the next
pandemic.

The USDA plan also permits "depopulation," or mass on-farm killing, at taxpayer
expense in the event of an outbreak. Approved killing methods include
suffocating birds with foam, which can take up to four and a half terrifying
minutes. The plan also allows potentially hazardous disposal, such as open-air
burning of dead animals and mass burials in unlined pits, which can release
harmful chemicals into the soil, air, and water supply, putting nearby
communities and the environment at risk.

[Video]: What Exactly Are Zoonoses?
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The lawsuit also highlights the ongoing need for environmental justice and
challenges the USDA's failure to adequately address the environmental impacts of
the bird-flu response plan on low-income and BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and
people of color) communities near factory farms. Like many polluters,
large-scale poultry farms are disproportionately located in low-income areas and
communities of color.

We're honored to join this lawsuit because animals and the communities
surrounding factory farms deserve better.

Will you support all our important work, including our legal team in this
battle, with a donation?

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Sincerely,
Sarah Coffman
Director of Annual Giving

P.S. You can read more about the lawsuit and our fight against injustice
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