A lawsuit filed by the Humane Society of the United States. Mercy for Animals and Farm Sanctuary against the USDA will go forward. The animal rights activist groups are challenging the Agriculture Department’s response to avian influenza. The lawsuit focuses on the way the animals are euthanized and the indemnity payments for farmers. USDA asked the federal court for California’s central district to dismiss the case, but that request has been denied. In 2015, avian flu devastated turkey and chicken operations in Minnesota, Iowa and throughout the Midwest.
