Existing law requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to contract with the Regents of the University of California for its School of Veterinary Medicine to establish and operate the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory. Existing law requires the laboratory system to be headed by a director appointed by the Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, as specified, and to test, examine, and make diagnoses of infectious, nutritional, toxic, metabolic, and other diseases of domestic animals.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to enhance support for the Tulare Laboratory of the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System and the Avian Health Program administered by the Department of Food and Agriculture to ensure robust disease surveillance, early detection, and timely responses to avian health threats, thereby protecting California's poultry industry, public health, and agricultural economy.