NAIS Premises No. and the Sheep Industry
March 25, 2005
March 25, 2005 -- Representatives from the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) met with U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) staff this week regarding the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and how it relates to scrapie identification requirements. ASI urged APHIS to: - communicate with state veterinarians and others at the state level regarding the need to collect and record existing scrapie premises numbers as animal ID coordinators are assigning new NAIS premises IDs to farms and ranches; and - develop and clearly communicate transition plans and database linkage procedures between the scrapie identification program and the NAIS.
Many states are aggressively working to sign-up premises with plans for a national animal identification system database to support the protection of our nation's livestock health and food security. Since sheep operations have been required to obtain premises numbers for more than three years, the industry would like to assist with the NAIS procedures and assure that the new premises numbering system complement existing programs for sheep producers. Staff contact: Paul Rodgers, 303-771-3500
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