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Beef/Cattle Extension Program
National Animal Identification System - Frequently
Asked Questions
Other
What will be the identification
requirements for animals entering the United States
from other countries?
Live animals imported into the United States will require
identification levels equivalent to what is required
of producers in the United States for interstate movement.
USDA anticipates that the NAIS will be compatible with
exporting countries' systems. Imported animals will
maintain their country of origin identification and
will be tracked just like domestic livestock. The country
of origin identification will be considered official
in the United States, and the animals will not need
to be re-identified.
What Will Happen with
the National Scrapie Eradication Program's Identification
System?
Since USDA is working to incorporate identification
systems already in existence, such as cattle brands
and identification tags distributed as part of the scrapie
eradication program, the scrapie eradication team is
working closely with the NAIS team to ensure that scrapie
program identification meets the requirements of both
the scrapie program and the NAIS. With consistency being
a key objective of the NAIS, AIN distributed through
USDA's national allocator will become the official numbers
for use in the scrapie eradication program. It is likely
that animals currently identified through other official
plans/programs will be "grandfathered" into
the program, meaning animal owners will phase in AINs
on animals identified for the first time after a mutually
acceptable date. In addition, USDA envisions that the
current scrapie premises identification numbers may
be cross-referenced with the new national premises identification
numbers. Animal owners will still be able to use the
current premises identification number until it is phased
out over time.
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