1. GAO urges Congress to modernize animal transport law
Report identifies six factors that could help prevent cruelty while transporting livestock
AVMA News
August 25, 2026
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says a 153-year-old animal transport law can be improved to better protect livestock.
Congress tasked the GAO to assess federal oversight of the interstate transport of livestock as outlined by Twenty-Eight Hour Law. Currently, the federal law states that if livestock are being transported for longer than 28 consecutive hours, they must be offloaded for at least five consecutive hours to get feed, water, and rest, with certain exceptions.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined whether the Twenty-Eight Hour Law "has withstood the test of time" and how it could be adapted to the modern world. The report concludes that the 19th-century law only partly covers one of the six factors identified to help prevent negative impacts on animal health and welfare during livestock transport.
"However, the law does not address other factors GAO identified that could help prevent such cruelty, including the animals' fitness for transport and unsanitary vehicles and equipment," the summary of GAO's findings states. "Industry and other stakeholders have noted that addressing these factors provides multiple economic, safety, and health benefits, such as preventing the spread of disease."
The 15-page report*, "Animal Transport: Congress Should Consider Modernizing the Law to Better Protect Livestock," also concluded that federal agencies have done little to monitor compliance or set meaningful penalties for violations.
[*See: https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-26-108123.pdf ]
Full text: https://www.avma.org/news/gao-urges-congress-modernize-animal-transport-law
2. Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Farmed White-Tailed Deer [MI - edited]
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development News Release
WHMI.com
August 26, 2026
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is reporting detections of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in farmed white-tailed deer in three counties. An infected two and a half-year-old deer was discovered in Calhoun County, an infected four-year-old deer was detected in Kent County, and a three-year-old deer was found in Mackinac County. The first two herds were identified through the state's CWD surveillance program for farmed deer and the third was found as part of trace investigations from the Calhoun County herd.
"These detections highlight why it is so vital to perform regular surveillance testing. Early detection allows for a prompt response, which helps limit the exposure of additional animals to this disease," said State Veterinarian Dr. Nora Wineland, DVM, MS, DACVPM. "While regular CWD surveillance testing is central to response efforts, MDARD's ongoing partnership with herd owners, hunters, and other state and federal partners is crucial to effectively managing this disease. Ensuring the health of Michigan's farmed cervid population has been and continues to be a team effort."
The presence of CWD in farmed deer facilities is not new to Michigan; and prior to these latest detections, cases have been found across multiple counties, including Kent, Lake, Mecosta, Montcalm, Newaygo, and Osceola counties.
As part of MDARD's disease response, investigations are ongoing to rule out additional exposures to other farmed cervids.
3. Poultry farmers will soon have new tools to detect avian flu
By Chelsea Kurnick
KALW.org
August 25, 2026
In 2022, a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu started to infect wildlife, poultry, and, later, dairy farms. Since then, more than 200 million poultry birds on U.S. farms have been killed because of outbreaks.
Most of the cases on farms can be traced to wild migratory birds like geese.
Maurice Pitesky is the founder of AgriNerds, Inc. It's a startup that tracks waterfowl with satellite imagery and weather radar, to warn farmers of their outbreak risk.
Now, Pitesky says that AgriNerds is partnering with Alveo Technologies, a company that makes a bird flu rapid test for poultry.
"Now we can make daily risk predictions for the entire poultry industry across the entire United States," Pitesky says.
Alveo's rapid test is still under review with the USDA, but it's already in use in more than 30 other countries.
4. Researchers map tick habitat to strengthen African swine fever preparedness [TX]
DHS-funded study examines if a long-lived soft tick in Texas might transmit African swine fever, which would impact the response, surveillance and outbreak control.
By Camryn Haines, Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Texas A&M Univ.
August 25, 2026
A small, nest-dwelling tick found across large parts of Texas could play an outsized role in how the United States responds to African swine fever (ASF) should the virus reach domestic or wild pigs.
In a recent study, researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS), Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the Department of Biology mapped where Ornithodoros turicata - a soft tick species native to Texas and the southwestern United States - is most likely to survive and examined what that means for ASF preparedness.
The study is part of a $1.4 million Department of Homeland Security-funded research project through the Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense (CBTS), DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Center of Excellence housed at Texas A&M. Led by Dr. Meriam Saleh, a clinical assistant professor in VMBS' Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, this project seeks to understand whether Texas-derived populations of the tick could help sustain or transmit the virus if it were introduced into the U.S. - and how that risk could affect the food supply, trade and cross-border livestock movement. By supporting research at the intersection of animal health, border security and supply chain resilience, CBTS helps address emerging transboundary threats before they escalate into large-scale economic or homeland security challenges.
The study is co-led by Dr. Dee Ellis, a veterinarian in AgriLife Research and the Department of Entomology. Ellis focuses on the industry and stakeholder impacts of the virus. Though ASF is not currently in the U.S., it is present in the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and parts of Asia. This virus is highly contagious in pigs and often fatal, making it one of the most economically devastating livestock diseases in the world.
5. Wyoming Horse Tests Positive for West Nile Virus; Pigeon Fever Confirmed in 3 Wyoming Horses
Wyoming Horse Tests Positive for West Nile Virus
The case is located in Uinta County.
EDCC Health Watch
EquiManagement.com
August 26, 2026
According to the State Animal Health Official, one horse in Uinta County, Wyoming, has tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV).
Full text: https://equimanagement.com/news/edcc-health-watch/wyoming-horse-tests-positive-for-west-nile-virus/
Pigeon Fever Confirmed in 3 Wyoming Horses
EDCC Health Watch
TheHorse.com
August 26, 2026
According to the state veterinarian, three horses at a private facility in Laramie County, Wyoming, have tested positive for pigeon fever. Fifteen additional horses have been exposed.
Full text: https://thehorse.com/1146814/pigeon-fever-confirmed-in-3-wyoming-horses/
6. Kentucky Forage Research Lab Fully Funded at $102M to Beat Fescue Toxicosis
Full funding secured for UK lab targeting fescue toxicosis, $2B annual livestock disorder
By Earl Bensen
TechTimes.com
August 26, 2026
A fungal disease embedded in America's most common pasture grass costs US beef producers an estimated $2 billion every year - reducing cattle weight gain by up to 50%, suppressing milk production, and causing reproductive failures in mares and cows. The University of Kentucky's newly funded Forage-Animal Production Research Unit is designed to change that.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced Tuesday that the US Department of Agriculture has approved a final $26.7 million grant for the facility's construction, completing three rounds of federal investment totaling $102.6 million in the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Forage-Animal Production Research Unit (FAPRU) on UK's Lexington campus, according to his office. The facility broke ground in May 2023 and is expected to wrap construction by the end of 2026.
What Tall Fescue and Its Hidden Fungus Are Doing to Kentucky's Cattle
Tall fescue is the backbone of livestock agriculture in the eastern half of the United States - a hardy, deep-rooted perennial that covers roughly 37 million acres of pasture from Kentucky to the Carolinas. It is also, in most of those acres, quietly poisoning the animals that eat it.
Roughly 90% of tall fescue stands in Kentucky are infected with an endophytic fungus - Epichloë coenophiala - that lives inside the plant without visibly changing it. The fungus produces alkaloids, including ergovaline, that structurally mimic monoamine neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. When cattle graze infected fescue, those alkaloids bind to receptors throughout the body, constricting peripheral blood vessels, disrupting thermoregulation, suppressing prolactin, and reducing appetite. The result, called fescue toxicosis, is an animal that cannot dissipate heat, cannot grow efficiently, and - in breeding operations - often cannot reproduce normally.