American Horse Council Press Release

Latest Federal Bill on Animal Identification Not Applicable to Horses

Another bill has been introduced in Congress calling for the establishment of a national identification system for livestock by 2009. The Livestock Identification and Marketing Opportunities Act (H.R. 3170) was introduced by Representative Steve King (R-IA) on June 30, shortly after a second case of BSE was found in the U.S.

Unlike other federal legislation regarding the national identification system, this bill does not apply to horses. Participation in the national identification system would be mandatory for cattle, swine, sheep, goats and poultry, but not horses, although horse owners and breeders could voluntarily participate in the system.

This legislation would establish a private Livestock Identification Board to develop and maintain the livestock identification system, which would be producer-controlled and operated by the livestock industries involved, not the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This Livestock Identification Board would include seven members appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture in consultation with the Chair and Ranking Minority Member of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. The voting members of the Board would represent the cattle, swine, sheep and goat industries, poultry producers, livestock market operators, meat processors and one at-large member. Non-voting representatives on the Board would be from the USDA and State or Native American tribal agriculture agencies.

Under the bill, the livestock identification system would have to be capable of tracing all livestock “from the time of first movement … from its original premise to the time of slaughter… in less than 48 hours.” It would also have to be able to track all relevant information about the livestock, including its identification number, the date the number was assigned, the premise identification number, the species, date of birth, sex and any other information the Board considers appropriate.

The Board would also be required to maintain the identification system in a centralized data system and determine the official identification technology to be used to track animals.

Within nine months after enactment, the bill requires the Secretary to establish a premise identification system for all livestock premises, which are defined as any location that holds, manages, or boards animals. The registration of premises has already begun under state supervision.

The King bill would exempt all information collected from the Freedom of Information Act. It would also limit the release of information to situations involving a disease threat and even then only to those involved in handling the threat.

The bill authorizes $33 million to be appropriated for Fiscal Years 2006 through 2008 for implementation of the identification system.

In introducing the legislation, Congressman King said “There’s no question we must have a functioning livestock identification system as soon as possible. It’s a big step for our producers, so rather than slapping another government restriction on our livestock industry, I seek to create a system that would be developed by the people it affects the most, and create it in a way that will benefit everyone.”