State Agriculture Commissioner Encourages Comments on USDA Animal Disease Traceability Rule

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9/15/2011?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is seeking comments on a proposed rule to improve the traceability of U.S. livestock during a disease outbreak. West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass encourages farmers to add their input.

“Traceability – in my estimation – is a must, but there are many forms it can take,” he said. “This is a chance for West Virginia’s livestock producers to have a say, but the comment period is ending soon.”

West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) State Veterinarian Dr. Jewell Plumley also stressed the importance of traceability.

“The ability to track where diseased or at-risk animals have gone or been moved from is critical to ensuring a rapid response should an animal disease event take place. The use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, which allows computerized tracking of animals is very helpful to these efforts, and many animals are already being tagged in that way. We encourage all interested stakeholders to comment on this proposed rule,” Dr. Plumley said.

Comments must be received by November 9. The rule appeared in the Federal Register August 11.

Under the proposed rule, livestock being moved across state lines would have to be officially identified unless specifically exempted. The proposed rule encourages the use of low-cost technology, and specifies approved forms of official identification for each species, such as metal eartags for cattle.

An efficient and accurate animal disease traceability system helps reduce the number of animals affected by the disease itself or by unwarranted movement restrictions. A traceability system also reduces the time needed to control the spread of the disease and ultimately decreases the cost to producers, Dr. Plumley noted.

Comments may be submitted by the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2009-0091 to submit or view comments and to view supporting and related materials available electronically. Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send two copies of your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2009-0091, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. APHIS-2009-0091.

For more information regarding the proposed animal traceability rule, visit http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/2011/08/pdf/QAtraceabil.VS.pdf, or for general information about USDA-APHIS visit www.aphis.usda.gov.

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Buddy Davidson, Communications Officer?
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