On Jan. 18, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced a proposed rule to amend animal disease traceability regulations. The public comment period regarding the proposal is open through March 22, 2023. If the proposal becomes law, official USDA tags would be defined as those that are both visually and electronically readable.
APHIS’s Animal Disease Traceability framework was constructed with an eye toward tracing animals back from slaughter and forward from premises where they are officially identified as disease carriers, thereby enhancing industry and government officials’ abilities to initiate swift and effective emergency responses and prevent epidemics.
“These proposed changes would enhance the ability of tribal, state and federal officials, private veterinarians and livestock producers to quickly respond to high-impact diseases currently existing in the United States, as well as foreign animal diseases that threaten the viability of the U.S. cattle and bison industries,” APHIS said in the official proposal.
Only about 11% of the national herd of approximately 100 million cattle and bison will be impacted by the proposed rule changes. It would apply only to certain classes of cattle that are crossing state lines and meet any of the following conditions:
- Sexually intact and 18 months of age or older
- All female dairy cattle of any age and male dairy animals born after March 11, 2013
- Cattle and bison of any age used for rodeo or recreational events
- Cattle or bison of any age used for shows or exhibitions
For the time being, the USDA is maintaining a stance of technology neutrality, meaning they will not standardize which frequency tag producers must use.
