NEWS
RELEASE
For
Immediate Release – May 22, 2013
ARDMORE, Okla. —On March 11,
2013, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated the Animal
Disease Traceability Program (ADTP) to track interstate livestock movement. The
new rule replaces the previous version of the National Animal Identification
System (NAIS) and pertains to all livestock, including cattle, horses, sheep
and goats.
According to the USDA, knowing
where diseased or at-risk animals are, where they have been and when, is
important to providing a rapid response when animal disease events take place.
This will reduce the impact of an animal disease event.
Noble Foundation Livestock
Consultant, Robert Wells, Ph.D., said the ADTP will require livestock that move
interstate to be accompanied by an Interstate Certificate of Veterinary
Inspection (ICVI), owner-shipper statement or a brand certificate. The
owner-shipper statement and brand certificate must be approved by officials in
both the state of origin and the receiving state. Animals moved intrastate will
be under the jurisdiction of the state’s regulations.
For cattle, the following are
deemed officially accepted forms of identification:
- Metal ear tags (brucellosis “orange” tag or National Uniform Eartagging System “Brite” tag).
- Plastic ear tags (with or without RFID, but must have a unique 15-digit code with 840 as the first three digits, the U.S. shield and manufacturer’s logo or trademark).
- Group or lot identification when applicable.
- Brands, when recognized by a brand inspection authority, accompanied by an official brand inspection certificate and allowed by the receiving state.
- Ear tattoos acceptable to breed registries when accompanied by a breed registration certificate or back tags when cattle are moved directly to slaughter.
Cattle are exempt if they are
moved directly to a livestock slaughter facility or to an approved livestock
tagging facility with an owner-shipper statement; moved from farm of origin to
a veterinary medical facility and then returned to the farm of origin (directly
from one state through another state and back to the original state); or moved
as a commuter herd with a copy of the commuter herd agreement.
“Ordinarily there is no
requirement for a producer to maintain a copy of the movement document, but it
is highly recommended that records be kept,” Wells said. “However, if an animal
loses an official ear tag, a replacement may be used. If this occurs, then
records that indicate the new identification number, the date it was
implemented and the old number must be maintained for five years.”
As beef cattle producers manage
their herds now and into the future, they will need to make sure that cattle
have compliant identification and they maintain those records necessary for
USDA compliance.
Federal rules require the
following animals to be officially identified:
- All sexually intact dairy cattle.
- All rodeo, exhibition or event cattle and horses.
- Sexually intact beef cattle over the age of 18 months.
- Equines that move interstate.
- Existing sheep and goat scrapie regulations apply.
