The following statement regarding the U.S. Bird Flu outbreak may be attributed to Ben Williamson, U.S. Executive Director for Compassion in World Farming USA.

According to Bloomberg, the crisis hurts egg-laying hens and turkeys the most. The Bird Flu outbreak is propagated mainly by migrating wild birds swarming above farms and leaving droppings that get tracked into poultry houses. Factory farming provides the perfect breeding ground for these outbreaks. By ending factory farming and moving to regenerative food production, we can reintegrate farm animals as part of mixed, rotational regimes that enhance soils and help restore landscapes.

This is why Compassion in World Farming campaigns peacefully to end all factory farming practices. We believe the biggest cause of cruelty on the planet deserves a focused, specialized approach – so we are relentlessly focused on ending factory farming. As part of genuinely extensive, agroecological forms of farming, domesticated animals can help regenerate soils. They re-engage the age-old nitrogen cycle where sunlight pushes up plants, eaten by animals whose droppings return nourishment to the earth. They can express their natural behaviors – running, flapping, grazing – making for happier animals with better immunity, cutting down on the need for veterinary antibiotics and reducing disease risk.

Ending factory farming and restoring farm animals to the land can also cut reliance on chemical pesticides and fertilizers, reducing costs for farmers. This can create a varied landscape, bursting with wildflowers, luring back indispensable pollinating insects like bumblebees and providing seeds and insects for a host of birds and other wildlife. It can also take the pressure off a hard-pressed environment, requiring less water from rivers and aquifers and reducing the need to fell forests to make way for more arable land.

In this way, regenerative farming, coupled with the consumption of less but better meat and dairy, can help end cruelty to animals, save wildlife, stabilize the climate and safeguard the future of food for our children.

Compassion USA engages with the world's leading food companies to create and adopt meaningful animal welfare policies while tracking progress against those commitments to ensure compliance. It works tirelessly towards a better future for animals, people, and the planet by educating concerned consumers and supporting meaningful public policy. To learn more about our mission and cause, please visit www.ciwf.com.

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Statement in response to an article written by Bloomberg.