After hours of testimony, Senate committee votes to postpone bill that would phase out ventilation shutdown plus for poultry

The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday heard extended testimony on Senate Bill 123, legislation that would phase out the use of ventilation shutdown (VSD) and VSD plus for depopulating poultry. After more than three hours of in‑person and virtual testimony from industry representatives, veterinarians and animal‑welfare groups, the committee voted 5‑1 to postpone the bill indefinitely.

Sponsor Senator Cutter described VSD plus as an inhumane depopulation method and said the bill would have moved Colorado toward more modern, humane options such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen‑based methods. Cutter said she found the practice “shocking and horrifying” and urged a phaseout but ultimately moved to postpone the bill because stakeholders could not agree on a compromise.

Industry witnesses — including Brandon Melnikov of the Colorado Farm Bureau, Madeline Robertson of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union and Jerry Wilkins of the Colorado Egg Producers — opposed the bill. They said producers need flexibility in emergency responses to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), that depopulation decisions are made in coordination with USDA and the state veterinarian, and that locking husbandry or emergency methods into statute could remove tools that veterinarians and producers use to control disease rapidly.

Colorado State Veterinarian Dr. Maggie Baldwin testified in an amended position. She said VSD alone has not been used in Colorado and that VSD plus has been used only in limited circumstances when other methods were not available and rapid depopulation was required to reduce spread. Baldwin said depopulation decisions are coordinated among the producer, the Colorado Department of Agriculture and USDA and depend on premises characteristics, available equipment, personnel, disposal options and human safety.

Animal‑welfare groups and veterinarians urged a ban or phaseout and argued that VSD plus causes prolonged suffering. Witnesses from the Animal Welfare Institute, Veterinary Association for Farm Animal Welfare and multiple veterinary specialists described VSD plus as causing death by heat stroke or hyperthermia that can take hours, and advocated nitrogen whole‑house gassing or high‑expansion nitrogen foam as higher‑welfare alternatives that can be rapidly deployed with advance planning, equipment and contracts.

Witnesses cited large depopulation totals during the recent outbreak; several speakers said millions of birds have been depopulated in Colorado and nationwide, and several veterinarians said nitrogen‑based methods are classified as preferred in newly updated AVMA depopulation guidance. Supporters of the bill said advanced planning and procurement of equipment and gas supplies would allow producers to use higher‑welfare methods.

Committee members asked whether alternative methods are practicable at scale and whether timelines exist for adoption; veterinarians said alternatives are being field‑tested and can be effective but that USDA approvals and contractor arrangements matter. The state veterinarian said she could not give a firm timeline for industry‑wide rollout of alternatives.

After discussion and final remarks by the sponsor, a motion to postpone SB123 indefinitely passed on a 5‑1 vote (Senator Kipp recorded the no vote). The committee adjourned.

The hearing brought forward sharply different views about animal welfare, emergency disease control and the practical requirements for a transition away from VSD plus.