Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I was able to participate in an NAIS seminar last fall.  It was set up by 
the ID State animal Health Board.  There were not many there, but beef 
cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, swine, and elk ranchers, and myself as the lone 
horse person, were represented.
Because of short life spans ear tags were the preferred individual  ID 
methods for most. Beef cows and milk cows are usually around more than 10 
years so longer lasting IDs were desired, most already are marked in some 
way..
For the foreseeable future, animals that are already marked, such as State 
recorded brands, registration tattoos or freeze numbers will be acceptable. 
(This is a long way down the road.)
Present health certificates usually call for location./destination info, and 
most states already require some kind of travel permit, so not that 
different than now..
The 6 month health certificates that are good over several states have a 
requirement to be returned at the end of use with listing of when the horse 
went where.  (Don't know anyone that actually returned one??)
And there was a vesicular stomatitis outbreak last fall, all long term 
health certificates were instantly invalidated.
The overall purpose of being able to track all animal movements is not so 
much danger to people, but outbreaks of food animal diseases.  The first 
info I heard about this program  was concerned with terrorists infecting 
food animals with fast spreading deseases.
There are quite a few things that are passed from animal to animal species, 
hoof and mouth, for one.
Was it piroplasmosis?? that kept our endurance horses returning from Spain 
in France for months a few years ago?   I think one or two did not return to 
this counrty.
There is African Horse sickness, I'm sure there others that we never had or 
no longer have in this country.  Be useful to know where exposure happened 
to contain it.

I got the impression this is a very complicated issue, with
many problems to be worked out, and will be a long time getting implemented, 
especially as it applies to horses.

Certainly something to keep an eye on, but not panic over yet.




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