For Immediate Release – April 29, 2021
Bailey legislation aims to help livestock backlog due to COVID-19 production closures, shortages
Springfield, IL… There are many challenges that farmers have to overcome to be successful each year, according to farmer and State Senator Darren Bailey (R-Louisville). During the last year, farmers saw a new set of challenges in the livestock sector. To help create safe and responsible provisions for our state’s livestock, Bailey sponsored Senate Bill 1656, which passed the Senate this week.
“This past year the livestock chain saw major disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Sen. Darren Bailey. “Producers either had livestock ready for market or were in the process of raising the animal when they faced major backups as processing plants across our country shutdown completely or were running at minimal capacity. This left thousands of animals on the verge of a mass culling event.”
Current law states that had farmers culled these animals, they would have violated the Human Care for Animals Act. The current law also has no provisions for establishing a safe and responsible process to deal with a mass culling event.
“This legislation allows the Director of Agriculture to declare a mass animal mortality event through the Department of Emergency Management,” said Bailey. “This bipartisan legislation was brought forth with humane and safety efforts in mind.”
Senate Bill 1656 now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.
