Support NO NAIS (National Animal Identification System)

NAIS What it is and What is Isn't

According to the USDA it is a plan to protect the environment from animal disease-

According to small farmers and animal owners, it is a plan for one additional way for the government to squeeze money from their already empty pockets and control their livestock operations.

National Animal Identification System (NAIS) The USDA Says: [quote]As part of its ongoing efforts to safeguard U.S. animal health, USDA initiated the implementation of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in 2004. NAIS is a cooperative State-Federal-industry partnership to standardize and expand animal identification programs and practices to all livestock species and poultry. NAIS is being developed through the integration of three components—premises identification, animal identification, and animal tracking. The long-term goal of the NAIS is to provide animal health officials with the capability to identify all livestock and premises that have had direct contact with a disease of concern within 48 hours after discovery.[/quote]

NAIS Key Components The NAIS will be established over time through the integration of three key components: premises identification, animal identification, and animal tracking.

Premises Identification To track animals, animal health officials must know where they are born and where they are moved. Therefore, identifying locations that manage or hold animals—referred to as premises—is the starting point of the NAIS. Each premises will be identified with a unique seven character identifier, or a Premises Identification Number (PIN). The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has amended the regulations to recognize for official use the 7-character PIN. The table below shows the 12 pieces of information that will be stored in a national premises system: National Premises Information Repository—

Data Elements Premises ID Number Name of Entity Owner or Appropriate Contact Person*

Street Address City State Zip/Postal Code

Contact Phone Number

Operation Type (e.g., production unit, exhibition, abattoir, etc.)

Date Activated Date Retired (e.g., date operation is sold, date operation is no longer maintaining livestock)

Reason Retired *The contact person should be the person the animal health official is to communicate with when performing a traceback (as determined by the entity).

As USDA and its partners move forward with the NAIS, they will also be working to obtain information about specific animals or groups of animals that have been assigned official identification numbers.

Only information necessary for animal health officials to be able to track suspect animals and identify any other animals that may have been exposed to the disease will be maintained.

As it comes online, the NAIS will be a fundamental tool for carrying out animal health monitoring and surveillance programs.

State and federal animal health officials will be able to access a centralized NAIS database continually, so that they may more quickly ascertain a herd's health status and issue intra- and interstate animal movement certificates.

Eventually, the NAIS will allow animal health officials to identify all animals and premises that have had contact with a foreign or domestic animal disease of concern within 48 hours after discovery. As an information system that provides for rapid tracing of infected and exposed animals during an outbreak situation, the NAIS will help limit the scope of such outbreaks and ensure that they are contained and eradicated as quickly as possible.

The NAIS will be established over time through the integration of three key components: premises identification, animal identification, and animal tracking. Animal Identification To track animals as they move from premises to premises, animal health officials must have a standard way to identify them.

Animals will be identified either individually with a unique Animal Identification Number (AIN) or, if they are managed and moved through the production chain as a group, with a Group/Lot Identification Number (GIN). The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has amended the regulations to recognize for official use the 15-character AIN and 13-character GIN.

Industry groups have the option of using the same animal identification numbers for programs they sponsor, such as for performance recording or breed registration.

Animal Tracking Various species working groups have suggested that certain basic events will trigger the need for reporting animal movements (e.g., change of ownership, interstate movement, multiple owners commingling their animals, etc). Each location will have a Premises Identification Number (PIN), and the responsible party will report the AIN or GIN of all animals that arrive at that premises and the date of their arrival.

There are essentially four pieces of information required to document an animal movement event. The table below shows the four pieces of information that will be stored in a national animal records repository:

National Animal Records Repository—Data Elements

Animal Identification Number, AIN, or Group/Lot Identification Number, GIN

Premises Identification Number, PIN, of the location where the event takes place

Date of the event

Event type (movement in, movement out, sighting of an animal at a location, termination of the animal, etc)

As it comes online, the NAIS will be a fundamental tool for carrying out animal health monitoring and surveillance programs. State and federal animal health officials will be able to access a centralized NAIS database continually, so that they may more quickly ascertain a herd's health status and issue intra- and interstate animal movement certificates. However, only information necessary for animal health officials to be able to track suspect animals and identify any other animals that may have been exposed to the disease will be maintained.

Eventually, the NAIS will allow animal health officials to identify all animals and premises that have had contact with a foreign or domestic animal disease of concern within 48 hours after discovery. As an information system that provides for rapid tracing of infected and exposed animals during an outbreak situation, the NAIS will help limit the scope of such outbreaks and ensure that they are contained and eradicated as quickly as possible.