Delaware Department of
Agriculture

Poultry & Animal Health

April 2, 2024: Under the authority granted in 3 Del. C. § 7101, the Delaware Department of Agriculture has issued a Control Order: Restricting Movement of Dairy Cattle into Delaware Due to the Unusual Dairy Cattle Morbidity Event occurring in other states.

For more information regarding this event, including the Delaware Animal Health Advisory, Control Order, and Resources for Producers, visit our Cattle page at https://de.gov/cattle.

Our Mission

A happy and healthy hen foraging in an enclosed backyard The Poultry and Animal Health Section of the Delaware Department of Agriculture is committed to protecting the health and welfare of domestic animal and avian species from introducing and spreading infectious and contagious diseases, including those transmissible to the human population.

ATTENTION! If you have an animal complaint or issue, please refer to our Contact Us Page to determine who you should contact for assistance.

If you are a backyard flock owner and have not registered your flock, complete the Poultry Registration Form English / Spanish

What We Do

The Poultry and Animal Health Section is responsible for being completely familiar with the diseases of all classes of animals — livestock and exotic, as well as commercial poultry and exotic birds. This applies not only to the local situation but regionally and nationally. If there is a serious disease in another state or section of the country, the State Veterinarian may place importation restrictions or an embargo on the affected species in an attempt to prevent the introduction of the disease into this state until an epidemiological situation report is made available.

This section is charged with preventing the introduction and spread of contagious and infectious diseases into and within the animal and poultry population of the state. We maintain a diagnostic laboratory and cooperate with the poultry diagnostic laboratory system of the University of Delaware. Our personnel responds to reports of actual or potential disease problems from veterinarians and livestock and poultry owners. Our personnel visits farms, dairies, livestock auctions, and other premises with animals to collect biological specimens for analysis and diagnosis of disease. When serious, highly contagious diseases are diagnosed, the State Veterinarian, through the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture, may quarantine the animal, herd, or flock to prevent the spread of disease to other premises.