National Identification Plan For Horses

Introduction

The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is a voluntary program being developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to identify livestock (including horses), livestock premises and to record certain animal movements so that a major disease outbreak or bio-terrorist attack could be quickly contained and eradicated. It is a system intended to control the spread of disease and to minimize the negative impact of a disease outbreak on the livestock industry.

The USDA is moving forward with the implementation of the NAIS, on a voluntary basis. Legislation was introduced last Congress calling for implementation of the system by USDA. It is possible that legislation will be reintroduced this Congress.

Purpose of National Animal Identification System

The NAIS is intended to establish a standardized, alpha-numeric system for animal identification. The ultimate goal of such a system is to permit “trace back” within 48 hours of a confirmed diagnosis of an animal disease. Ensuring animal health in the U.S., and thereby our ability to move and market our animals, is the primary reason the animal agriculture industry is looking at a national, standardized identification system.

The ultimate goal of the NAIS is:

• To establish a national system to identify those livestock and livestock premises that are part of the system and to record animal movements for purposes of disease control only.
• To allow the “trace back” within 48 hours of a confirmed diagnosis of a serious animal disease to ensure rapid containment of the disease.
• To protect animal health in the U.S. and our ability to move and market livestock. Movement is particularly important to the horse industry.

The NAIS is broken down into three parts:

• Premises Registration: A premises identification number (PIN) will be given for each premises (location where livestock or poultry are raised, held, or boarded) that holds or manages animals which participate in the system.
• Animal Identification: An animal identification number (AIN) for each animal that participates in the system.
• Movement Recording: Major animal movements would be recorded, capturing a location, time and date stamp, so that livestock included in the system could be “traced” to their current or previous locations in the event of a major disease outbreak.

A Voluntary Program

The policy of USDA is that the NAIS is and will be a voluntary program, and there are no plans to make the program mandatory.

Some states have mandated parts of the system within their state, for example mandatory premises registration in Wisconsin, but the NAIS as a national comprehensive program is voluntary.

Additionally, participation in one segment of the NAIS does not require the participation in all segments. A premises can be registered and the animals officially identified without participation in the movement recording stage. Or premises registration could be the sole form of participation. Certain parts of the system will work best for some producers, while some parts may not. Because this is a voluntary program, it is up to producers to determine how they might best fit within the system, while also being aware of possible state regulations for participation.

Horse Industry Involvement – Equine Species Working Group

In Fall 2003, the American Horse Council organized a task force that included nearly thirty national equine organizations. Its purpose was to evaluate the concept of a national ID system and to determine if the horse industry could develop standards for equine identification that would benefit the industry and be compatible with the plans being considered.

This task force has been recognized as the Equine Species Working Group (ESWG) by the USDA. It is currently chaired by Dr. Jim Morehead (American Association of Equine Practitioners) and Dr. Billy Smith (American Quarter Horse Association).

Through the ESWG, the horse industry is evaluating the overall plan, its benefits and costs, and determining how the industry can develop standards for equine identification that would fit into the system and help the industry should it ever become mandatory.

ESWG Recommendations to USDA

The ESWG has submitted recommendations to USDA regarding the NAIS on several occasions, most recently on August 1, 2006. The following summarizes these comments and recommendations. (Please visit www.equinespeciesworkinggroup.com for a more complete report and other documents regarding national ID.)

The ESWG supports the general principles expressed previously by USDA. These include:

• The confidentiality of data collected pursuant to a national animal ID system must be protected. This is fundamental to any support of the NAIS.
• Even when a system is in place and working, there should be a transition period from voluntary to mandatory for the horse industry.
• A national animal ID system should not increase the role and size of the federal government. Since this program is intended to protect American agriculture from diseases, federal and state funds must be appropriated for the effort. The industry cannot be expected to fund this system by itself.

One of the key recommendations made by the ESWG is that no equine movements should be reported.

In the submitted recommendations, the ESWG proposed that horses which move to a premises where a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI), Brand Inspection, VS-127 permit or International CVI are required should be officially identified and that the records maintained through those currently existing and utilized movement permits capture the high risk movements that pose the largest threat of spreading disease. Animal health officials would be able to query the state databases in the event of a disease emergency to obtain the necessary records.

Other recommendations include the standardization of requirements for CVIs, that the equine-related components of the NAIS should provide definitive benefits to the horse industry that exceed the cost to stakeholders, and that when practical, the NAIS should be compatible with other nations, especially Canada and Mexico.

The ESWG also recommends that if horse owners choose to utilize microchips for the purpose of official identification, they use the ISO/ANSI compatible RFID chip (11784/85, 134.2 kHz) and that RFID reader and scanner manufacturers and suppliers should make an immediate effort to provide readers and scanners that can read ISO/ANSI 11784/11785 microchips, and read or at least detect all 125 kHz frequency companion animal microchips.

First Microchip Approved for Equine Use in NAIS

In September 2007, USDA approved Digital Angel Corporation’s (formerly Destron Fearing) Life-Chip equine radio frequency identification (RFID) injectable transponder for use in horses. The industry expects that in the future additional companies will apply for USDA approval of equine microchips to be developed and sold in the U.S.

The LifeChip is not only compliant with all U.S. animal safety standards, but also with the International Organization of Standardization (ISO). It contains a passive transponder programmed with a unique 15-digit number that can be read by any ISO-compliant reader. As long as the reader is ISO-compliant, it does not matter what brand it is, the microchip will be read. Now with the USDA approval, the LifeChip can be used for participation in the NAIS. It is the first microchip to be approved for use in the NAIS, and it satisfies the identification standard recommended by the ESWG.

The LifeChip microchip also has a BioThermo temperature-sensing technology feature. This feature allows the horse’s temperature to be read at the site of the microchip’s implantation, an easy and safe way for owners, breeders, veterinarians, etc. to perform this common task. Additionally, each microchip is capped with a patented, biocompatible material called BioBond which prevents migration from the site of implantation, an item that was necessary to gain USDA approval.

A Business Plan to Advance Animal Disease Traceability

The USDA has released a new business plan for the NAIS titled “A Business Plan to Advance Animal Disease Traceability” which details their recommended strategies and plans to facilitate progress towards achieving optimal disease tracing capabilities. It was developed to explain how USDA plans to continue the development and implementation of a voluntary ID system. It gives a comprehensive overview of the country’s current traceability status and discusses seven major strategies that USDA will be focusing on to enhance the current level of traceability. The draft business plan is available on the USDA’s NAIS website – www.usda.gov.nais and is currently available for public comment.

Strategy 1 – Prioritize Species

The first strategy within the NAIS draft business plan is to prioritize species and sector participation. The prioritization is broken down into three categories of high, medium and low with additional subcategories within each. The category of “high” consists of cattle. The “medium” category includes swine, poultry, goats and certain equine sectors. The “low” category includes sheep and aquatics.

The equine industry is broken down into two categories for the prioritization levels. The sector that is within the medium category of tier one are horses that require a CVI or EIA test. Horses that do not require a CVI or EIA test are in the low priority section.

Strategy 2 - Harmonize Animal ID Systems

This second strategy focuses on harmonizing both State/Federal government regulated and industry animal identification programs by creating common and compatible processes and data standards. This will allow all systems to communicate with each other when certain information is needed during a disease outbreak. Standardizing some of the key items within these programs will save time, money and effort by working with systems already in place while allowing each of the entities to continue using animal identification for multiple purposes as needed.

Strategy 3 - Converge Animal ID Standards with Disease Programs

The third strategy of the business plan addresses standardizing certain data elements within existing disease programs to ensure compatibility and enhance traceability and response capabilities in the event of an emergency. One example would be the use of the premises identification number (PIN) with official disease programs, import and export, and certificates of veterinary inspection (CVI).

Strategy 4 - Integrate automated technologies

Within strategy four, plans to integrate NAIS-complaint identification devices and automated data capture with animal disease programs are detailed. The switch to automated data capture will increase the volume and quality of data, minimize errors and will speed the entry of data into the databases, all allowing for quicker access to important information during the response to an animal health emergency. Electronic CVIs and EIA tests are examples of how USDA plans to utilize automated technology within the equine industry.

Strategy 5 - State Partnerships

The fifth strategy discusses USDA’s efforts and plans to partner with States, Tribes and Territories to facilitate the continued development of their individual animal disease traceability infrastructures with localized plans which reflect the animal health priorities of the particular region.

Strategy 6 - Collaborate with Industry

The sixth strategy details the collaborations of USDA with industry organizations and animal health officials to facilitate the implementation of certain parts of the animal disease traceability programs. Currently USDA has entered into cooperative agreements with certain non-profit industry organizations to help promote premises registration and continues to work with and build these collaborations. Additionally, the plan discusses accredited veterinarians working with USDA to adopt NAIS data standards in everyday animal health management and disease programs.

Strategy 7 - Advance ID Technologies

The seventh and final detailed strategy within the business plan discusses establishing performance standards for identification devices and evaluating emerging technologies for use in the NAIS and animal disease programs.

Industry Input Sought

The ESWG welcomes all input from horse owners and stakeholders in the industry as it determines the special needs of the horse industry in connection with the NAIS.

AHC Position

The AHC supports the efforts of the ESWG to review the NAIS and to ensure that should the national ID system ever become mandatory for horses it does not adversely affect the industry.