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Contact:
Workabeba (Abby) Yigzaw (301) 734-7255
Andrea McNally (301) 734-0602
APHIS ANNOUNCES ANIMAL DISEASE TRACEABILITY PUBLIC MEETINGS
WASHINGTON, April 29, 2010 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will be holding three public meetings on the animal disease traceability framework approach. The meetings will take place next month in Missouri, Maryland and Colorado. Additional meetings will be scheduled in the coming weeks.
On Feb. 5, 2010, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA will develop a new, flexible, yet coordinated framework for animal disease traceability in the United States. Under this new direction, states and tribal nations must establish the ability to trace, animals moving interstate back to their state of origin. The new framework will embrace the strengths and expertise of states, tribal nations, and producers, and empower them to find and use the traceability approaches that work best for them. The Secretary has pledged to develop this new approach as transparently and collaboratively as possible.
USDA has scheduled three public meetings to discuss animal disease traceability with livestock industry representatives and members of the public to gather feedback on appropriate approaches under the new framework.
The public meetings will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time, with registration starting one hour prior to each meeting. The meetings will be held in the following locations:
Tuesday, May 11: Kansas City, Mo.
Thursday, May 13: Riverdale, Md.
Monday, May 17: Denver, Colo.
Please note that there is a $4 parking charge at the Riverdale facility. Alternatively, this site is within walking distance of the College Park metro station.
A Federal Register notice about the meetings will be forthcoming to officially announce the meetings. Additional meetings will be scheduled in the coming weeks.
Note to Reporters: USDA news releases, program announcements and media advisories are available on the Internet and through Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds. Go to the APHIS news release page at www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom and click on the RSS feed link. To receive APHIS releases automatically, send an e-mail message to lyris@mdrdlyriss10.aphis.usda.gov and leave the subject blank. In the message, type
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USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410
or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720.6382 (TDD).
