Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced a 30-day extension of the comment period for the proposed rule on animal disease traceability.In a press release, the USDA stated that, "under the proposed rule, unless specifically exempted, livestock moved interstate would have to be officially identified and accompanied by an interstate certificate of veterinary inspection or other documentation, such as owner-shipper statements or brand certificates. The proposed rule encourages the use of low-cost technology and specifies approved forms of official identification for each species, such as metal eartags for cattle. However, recognizing the importance and prevalence of other identifications in certain regions, shipping and receiving states or tribes are permitted to agree upon alternative forms of identification such as brands or tattoos."
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Posted 10/10/2011
