[RC] MORE Illinois Entrance Permit INFO - DarkHorseGoddess
> An entry permit is required for all horses (and mules, donkeys, zebras....)entering >Illinois. This DOES NOT include animals passing through Illinois,only animals stopping in >Illinois. > > THERE IS NO COST FOR THE PERMIT. All that is involved is a telephone > call to the Department of Agriculture (217-782-4944 24/7) telling who > owns the horse and where it is going (show, trail ride, > breeding....) The entry permit number is issued immediately, and > normally the call takes around 2 minutes. Entry permits are normally > obtained by your veterinarian and recorded on your health certificate > at the time it is issued. Please note: Health certificates are > required on all equines any time you cross a state line. This is not > just Illinois' requirement. Health certificates are good for 30 days. > > Why the permit? Well, first off, permits have been required for most > livestock for years. The permit is used to monitor what is entering > the state (primarily for statistical purposes). However, permit > information has been used to track animal diseases. Pseudorabies, a > common disease in swine several years ago, is a good example. IDOA > would be notified by another department of ag that pseduorabies has > been diagnosed in one of their herds. Permits are checked to see if > animals from that herd entered Illinois, and if so, testing commenced > immediately in the Illinois herd (PRV is highly contagious). > > So why add horses? Since 911, everything needs to be looked at as a > potential biological weapon (maybe I'm too strong here). Livestock, > because of the movement throughout the country, would be an easy way > to spread disease, disease not only that affects that particular > species, but also man. A disease could be released by a terrorist at > a livestock concentration point, like a fair or livestock exhibition, > and spread to numerous states before the disease is detected. These > disease could include anthrax, brucellosis, foot-and-mouth disease, > glanders, plague, pseudorabies, tuberculosis, and tulerima, just to > name a few. > > Why did Illinois do this now? Well, how many of you remember > monkeypox. When monkeypox was diagnosed in Illinois and several > other Midwestern states, it was a foreign animal disease, and highly > contagious. Because there were no permit or any other type of entry > requirements for these types of animals, tracing the disease and > preventing its spread was extremely difficult. The general public > was up in arms because it happened and wanted something done to > prevent future occurrences. So, now we have permits, and the general > public is up in arms because it s "infringing on their privacy". You > can't have it both ways. > > Please remember that this only applies to animals entering Illinois. > If you live in Illinois and are traveling out of the state, as long > as you return to Illinois within 30 days, you are not required to > obtain a permit to return home. If the animal is out of the state > more than 30 days, you will be required to get an entry permit. If > an animal is gone more than 30 days, it is considered a "native" of > whatever state is it temporarily residing in. Plus, since a health > certificate is only good for 30 days, it would not be able to return > home on the Illinois health certificate that had been previously > issued. > > So you decide. Is a simple phone call an infringement on your > personal liberties, or would you rather live through another outbreak > of the black plague that killed so many during the Middle Ages and > have it spread throughout the country because no one can trace where > it came from or where it was going? > > I'm off my soapbox. And, if you want to know my credentials, call the > number for the permit, and then start asking questions on > horses....you will be transferred to me. I drafted the language for > the Department and support it 100%. > > By the way, this also applies to cattle, swine, sheep, goats, bison, > deer,elk, poultry, llamas and alpacas. > > Kathy Firch > Administrative Assistant > Bureau of Animal Health > Illinois Department of Agriculture