Agencies Should Unpause, Strengthen Animal Vaccination Programs that Prevent, Monitor Zoonotic Diseases

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Federal agencies should unpause long-standing vaccination and disease prevention programs, including those targeting bird flu and other avian diseases, which are a threat to not only domestic bird populations and public health, but also endangered species like the California condor.

"The recovery of the California condor from the brink of extinction is a remarkable story of how science and conservation can save our most iconic wildlife. Reported decisions to pause vaccination of domesticated species, however, could pose a severe threat to the California condor and other imperiled species as well as human health," said Diane Pataki, chief scientist of the National Wildlife Federation. "Avian flu can be transmitted back and forth from domestic to wild birds, threatening wildlife populations, poultry, and public health. Detection programs, federally-funded research, and vaccines remain some of our strongest allies in the fight to recover wildlife. USDA and USFWS should implement science-based bird flu response plans and Congress should ensure the agencies are fully staffed to carry out conservation priorities and respond to threats such as wildlife disease."

As of December 2025, there are 392 California condors left in the wild and 607 in the world. The remarkable land bird was considered extinct in the wild when concerted conservation efforts by the USFWS California Condor Recovery Program brought the species back to current population levels.