Vermont veterinarians urge stronger H5N1 surveillance, workforce support and careful handling of xylazine

Dr. Karen Bradley, speaking for the Vermont Veterinary Medical Association, told the Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry committee that recent detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) make expanded testing and milk surveillance urgent and described persistent shortages of food-animal veterinarians that state loan-repayment grants help to address.

In testimony, Bradley said federal and state action on several fronts was needed: better H5N1 surveillance of milk and poultry, continued state support for the Veterinary Education Loan Repayment Grant, and careful policy on the sedative xylazine so veterinarians retain access for legitimate animal care. "We are on the front lines of finding and seeing animal disease that could be our next pandemic," Bradley said. "This virus is very, very scary. It can mutate very well. It's about one mutation away from being human to human transmission."

The committee heard that Vermont currently runs targeted H5N1 testing: samples of influenza A are being subtype-tested to detect H5N1 and, as Bradley noted, 170 samples had been run recently with negative results. Bradley urged continued testing of milk at multiple points in the supply chain, including pre-pasteurization testing, because milk has been detected as a source in some human cases elsewhere. She also warned that feeding raw poultry to household pets increases the risk of introducing H5N1 into homes.

Bradley said Vermont has an acute shortage of veterinarians who work with food animals. She reported that the Vermont Veterinary Medical Association has about 385 members and estimated the number of licensed veterinarians in the state at roughly 400–410. Of those, about 87 are classified as food-animal veterinarians. She described average educational debt for new veterinarians as "at least" $180,000 to $250,000 and said Vermont's Veterinary Education Loan Repayment Grant — funded at about $30,000 per year by the legislature — provides awards that typically range from $5,000 to $10,000 per recipient and are renewable annually.

On xylazine, a sedative widely used in large-animal practice, Bradley said the drug has become part of the national conversation because it is being found in the illicit drug supply. She said the Vermont Legislature added xylazine to a list in a prior bill referred to in testimony as S.85, and that about 20–26 states have placed state-level controls requiring logging and handling similar to controlled substances. Bradley said veterinary organizations have advocated at the federal level for DEA scheduling of xylazine (a proposed Schedule III classification) while stressing the need to preserve veterinarian access for legitimate clinical uses.

Bradley also described gaps in the workforce that affect farm and public health response: Vermont has few dedicated poultry veterinarians, an insufficient number of credentialed veterinary technicians (the state does not license veterinary technicians), and challenges in recruiting younger veterinarians into ambulatory food-animal practice. She urged sustaining the veterinary technician program at Vermont Technical College and encouraged targeted outreach to encourage people with farm backgrounds into food-animal careers.

Committee members asked practical questions about backyard flocks and consumer risk. Bradley advised vigilance and reporting of dead wild birds to Fish and Wildlife, testing sick or dead backyard poultry, and depopulation of flocks when rapid, multiple deaths occur. On consumer risk, she said properly cooked meat is not a known transmission route, but raw milk and raw poultry products present risks and should be the subject of active surveillance and public messaging.

Bradley offered the association as a resource for future committee questions and said VVMA leaders and staff — including executive director Linda Waite Simpson — could provide additional technical briefings. Committee members indicated they planned follow-up briefings and walkthroughs on related bills and materials provided by the association.

While the committee did not take formal action during the session, the testimony flagged several areas where state policy, funding and surveillance intersect: avian influenza testing and milk screening; sustaining and expanding the loan-repayment program to retain food-animal veterinarians; decisions about xylazine regulation that balance public-safety concerns with clinical access; and investments to grow and credential veterinary technicians.