November 3, 2003

US'Animal Identification Plan Set To Improve Animal Disease Control
 

State animal health officials, livestock industry groups and the US government are working together to finalize a US Animal Identification Plan (USAIP), with a goal of creating a trace-back system that can identify all animals and premises potentially exposed to an animal with a foreign animal disease within 48 hours after discovery.

The 48-hour trace-back goal requires records of an animal's (or herd's) origin and movement to other locations for its entire life. Current goals are to start implementing the plan with identification of livestock premises next summer, and by July 2006, successful individual identification for cattle in commerce as well as other food animals and livestock in commerce.

The plan, as presented to the US Animal Health Association in late September, currently includes all domestic cattle, bison, swine, sheep, goats, deer and elk, horses, poultry, game birds, aquaculture, camelids like llamas and alpacas, ratites and other animals. These could be intended for breeding stock, consumption or personal use.

The National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) created and coordinated the efforts of a National Identification Task Force in 2002. More than 70 national livestock industry organizations were invited to participate on the Task Force. The USAIP Development Team was named by USDA-APHIS in spring 2003. This draft plan is their work.

Reasons for wanting to introduce such a trace-back system include enhancing disease control and eradication capabilities to rapidly contain foreign animal disease outbreaks, and enhanced ability to respond to bio-security threats.

It also would help the industry meet consumer demands for source-verified products, and mitigate intentional and unintentional threats to the bio-security of the food supply.

Development team members say the key data elements needing set standards include:

• A uniform premises identification system
   
• A uniform, nationally recognizable numbering system for individual animal identification
   
• A uniform, nationally recognizable numbering system for a group or lot of animals
   
• A uniform numbering system for non-producer participants

They say additional standards are required for identification devices to ensure minimum performance standards are achieved as well as standards associated with the integration of automated data collection systems.

The standards include: 

• Visual identification methods and devices for official use in livestock
   
• Electronic identification methods and devices for official use in livestock