Equine Infectious Anemia

Equine Viral Arteritis

National Animal Health Reporting System Provides Data for Confirmed Diseases

Feedlot Monitoring Data Show VS What is Happening in Animal Health

Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza

West Nile Virus

Chronic Wasting Disease

Modernization of Ames

National Animal Identification System

Bovine Tuberculosis

BSE Surveillance

Foreign Animal Disease Investigations

Trichinea Certification Program

Pseudorabies

Assessing Brucellosis in the Tristate Area: Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho

Bluetongue Survey

Confiscation of Belgian Sheep in Vermont

Scrapie Eradication Program

Johnes Program

National Veterinary Services Laboratories Domestic Detection and Surveillance Testing

Animal Identification

There are many animal health and food safety reasons why animal identification is important. Maintaining the health and biosecurity of the national herd is an urgent issue for industry and animal health officials. For the equine industry, identification can contribute to disease monitoring and control as well as theft prevention.

VS is developing, in collaboration with industry and other stakeholders, a national food animal identification program. VS is a member of the National Food Animal Identification Task Force, a group of more than 30 livestock organizations. The group, which formed in April 2002, spent 6 months developing a National Identification Work Plan. The task force, established by the National Institute of Animal Agriculture (NIAA), presented its preliminary report at the NIAA’s ID Info/Expo in July. The expo focused on animal identification and information systems. VS was a conference sponsor, and VS staff were on the expo planning team.

The group’s final work plan was presented at USAHA annual meeting in October 2002, and was accepted through a unanimous resolution. The USAHA resolution requests VS use the work plan as a guide to develop a national program.

The task force agreed that, in the event of a foreign animal disease incursion, timely traceback of animals is the key to rapid recovery. The goal of an identification system is to have the capability to identify all premises that had direct contact with a foreign animal disease within 2 days after discovery.

To achieve this goal, the movement of individual animals, or units of animals, has to be recorded into a central database. Premises identification is a key data element and must be standardized for all animal production operations as well as animal holding facilities, markets, and processing facilities. Additionally, a standard for an individual animal numbering system is imperative.

VS provided funding through a cooperative agreement to the National Farm Animal Identification and Records (FAIR) project to produce a video (available on CD) taking viewers through the step-by-step process of enrolling in FAIR, tagging the animals, and tracking animal movement. The video is the centerpiece of the group’s education campaign on the importance of animal identification.

Equine identification was also a topic in FY 2002. The National Equine Identification Symposium was part of the NIAA identification expo. It provided an educational forum to address the benefits and challenges of implementing an equine identification system.