USDA Says New EID Ear Tags Won't Compromise Privacy

USDA Says New EID Ear Tags Won't Compromise Privacy

Lorrie Boyer
Lorrie Boyer
Reporter
A USDA traceability rule for cattle and bison goes into effect on November 5. It requires electronic ID tags for cattle and bison. It includes visual and electronic identification ear tags for cattle and bison. Some producers have expressed concerns regarding privacy. USDA, Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, recently talked about a soon to be enacted enhanced animal disease.

“I don't think they should be concerned about the confidentiality, because it's going to be controlled by the state. It's not going to be controlled by the federal government. That information is not going to go to the federal government. It's going to go to the state.”

Vilsack says these ear tags are especially crucial when it comes to maintaining export activity in the event of a disease outbreak.

“When I did the g7 meeting, people were very interested in h5 n1 in terms of our ability to test, our ability to identify, our ability to make sure that exports were being checked and protected, that they weren't getting milk that was tainted in any way. So the ability to have that system is really, really important. “

The rule applies to interstate movement of all sexually intact kettle and bison 18 months of age or older, all dairy cattle, kettle and bison of any age used for rodeo or recreational events and kettle or bison of any age that are used for show or exhibitions, the USDA will continue to provide tags to producers free of charge to jumpstart efforts to enable the fastest possible response to A foreign animal disease, for information on how to obtain free tags contact your state veterinarian's office.

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