The National Assembly of the U.S. Animal Health Association (USAHA) is recommending national animal ID become mandatory for the U.S. cattle breeding herd. The USAHA's Livestock ID Committee approved a similar resolution, during the group's annual meeting in Minneapolis, MN, this week.

Brownfield Ag News reports Sam Holland, South Dakota State Veterinarian as saying: "For animal health reasons, I think animal health officials at the state levels and many of those at the national level, and industry also, see it being mandatory to be effective."

Holland says USAHA is less concerned about BSE relative to animal ID and animal health, and much more worried about contagious cattle diseases like bovine TB, brucellosis and foot-and-mouth disease. "We really need to protect out industry that we see as growing in vulnerability to recurrence of some of the traditional diseases," Holland said.

USAHA is a science-based, non-profit, voluntary organization made up of 1,400 members who are state and federal animal health officials, national allied organizations, regional representatives, and individual members. It works with government, universities, veterinarians, livestock producers, national livestock and poultry groups, researchers and seven foreign countries to control livestock diseases in the U.S. It represents all 50 states, seven foreign countries and 18 allied groups serving health, technical and consumer markets.
-- Joe Roybal