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Animal Identification Needed
in Disease Outbreaks
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It was not an easy task trying to remember the first time I went through an identification process. For my children, this would be relatively easy. After all, they were born in a hospital and I have their foot-prints to identify them. Unlike the baby calves born on our farm, there was no need to ear tag my children at that point.
I was actually born in a duplex on Andrews Avenue in Georgetown. The nearest hospital at that time was twenty miles away, across the river in Maysville, Kentucky. This would have prevented me from being a native buckeye so I was born in a house like most people were in Brown County fifty-six years ago. It was probably a lot cheaper too. I doubt if the whole experience cost my Dad more than $25.00. If he were alive today, he would probably say that he paid too much for me. Growing up in Brown County, there were very few times I remember being identified. I do have a birth certificate so that was probably the first time. But the first identification I remember was my first day at kindergarten. I may have been in the first kindergarten class in Georgetown. It was not part of the school system and was held at the Presbyterian Church which was one block from my house. I remember this large cardboard nametag with a string on it with my name. The only other identification processes I remember as a child was: my Smokey Bear Club I.D. card; birth certificate for little league; Boy Scouts, 4-H, FFA I.D. cards; drivers license; one year with school pictures a student I.D. Card; tattooing my 4-H and FFA projects; and the other day I found my first grade insurance card which is now probably worth a few bucks in an antique mall. By now most farmers have probably guessed what this article is about: The National Animal Identification System (NAIS). The goal of the NAIS is to create, in the United States, the capability to identify all animals and premises that had direct contact with a foreign animal disease or other disease of concern within 48 hours after discovery. The following species, included in the NAIS, will benefit from rapid tracing of a disease in the event of a disease concern: cattle and bison, sheep and goats, swine, poultry, horses, donkeys and mules, llamas and alpacas, farmed deer and elk. My first involvement in a national animal I.D. effort was my first year as a 4-H Agent in 1971. There was an outbreak of Venezuelan Equine Encephalomyelitis (VEE) in Texas. This was the first time the disease had occurred in the United States. VEE is an infectious virus disease of the central nervous system of horses, causing mortality as high as 80 to 90 percent. The disease may also attack humans. The Ohio Department of Agriculture asked the Extension Service to assist them in locating all the horses in Ohio. That was one tough job! Unlike regular farm animals, not all horses in Ohio are recorded in the Census of Agriculture. Most people with a few horses on a few acres do not fill out a farm census every five years. There are 200,000 horses in Ohio and most can probably be identified with a partnership of veterinarians, USDA, ODA, Extension, Amish Bishops, racehorse industry and horse associations. But, it is extremely doubtful if all horses can be identified in 48 hours. Thus the need for an effective system. Disease outbreaks should “strike fear” in all of us. The increasing number of animal disease outbreaks that have been reported around the globe over the past decade and the single cow that tested positive for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in the U.S. in December 2003 has greatly intensified public interest in developing a NAIS for the purpose of protecting animal health. The European Union, Canada and Australia already have animal identification systems in place. Animal identification is not a new concept in the United States. Back in the 1940’s the USDA initiated an extensive program to identify cattle vaccinated for brucellosis. The official brucellosis vaccination tag with ear tattoo provided the U.S. with a highly successful animal identification program for cattle for decades. Whoops! I remember now the metal tags and vet tattoo and my pink certification forms for my Hereford heifers I got from my Kentucky grandfather. I guess I was involved in this I.D. program too. The Ohio Department of Agriculture is taking the first step in implementing the NAIS by encouraging Ohio’s livestock industry to voluntarily register all premises (farms, markets, concentration points, exhibitions, packing/processing plants, and other locations) that produce, manage or hold livestock. The voluntary registration will be administered by the ODA’s Premise Allocation System, using a 7-character alpha-numeric code that will provide unique I.D. to each location. Legislation will be introduced during 2005 seeking ODA’s authority for premise registration. There is not charge for premise registration. A premise includes: farms and hobby farms; veterinary clinics; stables; etc. There are three ways to register: (1) go to www.ohioanimalid.com and click link for ODA Premise Registration and register on-line; (2) call the ODA at 614-728-6220 to request a registration form; and (3) go to www.ohioanimalid.com and print off a premise registration form and fax it back to the ODA. I highly encourage everyone to register their premise. I plan to do mine today. After all, a safe food supply is NOT optional. All
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Updated: July2005 |