As of Nov. 5, 2024, certain classes of cattle and bison will be required to have a permanent electronic identification device (EID) prior to moving across state lines. The tags, often referred to as 840 tags, are placed in the left ear and are both visually and electronically readable.
Dr. Alex Turner, director of the National Animal Disease Traceability and Veterinary Accreditation Center at USDA-APHIS Veterinary Services, clarified some of the details.
Turner said the mandated rule for official identification for livestock crossing state lines went into effect in 2013. That rule was to ensure some of the requirements were in place to allow the U.S. to respond to diseases and have minimal impact in the event the nation is forced to initiate a response to an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), for example.
“The cow that stole Christmas in 2003 pointed out a need and a gap in what we had in a voluntary program at that time,” said Turner, recounting the story of how one cow with BSE caused an uproar in the cattle industry. “APHIS felt a mandatory program was going to meet needs as well as prove to our trading partners that we had the ability to trace disease incursions and prove to the public that we had safety in our food supply.”
APHIS first initiated a voluntary program called the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). There was a lack of participation. Then, a collaborative effort between regulators and the industry who developed the existing traceability rule was passed into law in 2013. It brought the Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) rule into effect.
The rule requires EID for interstate shipping for all sexually intact cattle 18 months or older, all dairy cattle and all cattle headed to rodeo, show or exhibition. EIDs for feeder and stocker cattle were considered, but Turner said there was no push for these classes, adding that they can be included in the future.
He said states will take the lead for premises ID because states’ needs are unique. The premises ID number is required prior to acquiring 840 tags either directly from the manufacturer or when tags are distributed by states. For producers who are unsure of whether they have a valid premises ID, Turner suggested contacting the state veterinary office.
Cull cattle or feeder cattle under 18 months moving across state lines don’t require EIDs. “That movement may require a health certificate if they cross state lines, but it wouldn’t require an official ID tag and no official ID number is recorded on the health certificate,” Turner said. Cull animals over 18 months crossing state lines will require an official EID.
The phrase “parties responsible for interstate movement” in the ADT rule is somewhat confusing due to how it’s written. “It means anyone responsible for the movement across state lines is responsible that when the animals arrive at their destination, they meet all the requirements of the destination state,” said Turner. “If that was found to be a movement in violation and was investigated, the investigation looks at each piece of the movement to see the party responsible then assesses whether the violation happened.”
This is how the traceability rule has been enforced for the last 11 years. “If you are receiving cattle that are not compliant, can you as the receiver be held accountable?” Turner said. “It’s possible, but we don’t see a lot of that happening in terms of the enforcement of the traceability rule and where it’s breaking down, but you want to make sure animals you are moving are compliant. The ’parties responsible’ part of the traceability rule in place today and for 11 years has been very widely interpreted in some cases for enforcement of violations that made it to the penalty phase.”
For those on the sending end, such as producers, it’s important to cover all bases. “If I didn’t apply the ID and I sold cattle to someone, then that person moves cattle across state lines, I want to document this is the product I sold, this is the requirement for me to send this animal to market and have that as backup in case an investigation happens,” Turner said.
He clarified whether EID will trace animals for food safety issues at the plant: “Residues at plant level are covered by Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS). Their authority starts at the kill box and goes from there to the cellophane.” EID is in place only to move live animals to processing; its authority ends there.
“The traceability rule, in 11 years, has not caused an increase in that type of liability back to the single producer level,” said Turner. “I don’t anticipate this rule change to do that any differently because all we’re talking about is the type of ear tag. It improves traceback and response times, but I don’t anticipate it changing liability. Those disease traces have been accurately found at the plant level and not necessarily at the delivery of live animal level.”
by Sally Colby
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