The state Board of Animal Health has voted to adopt standards that align Indiana with a federal livestock identification program aimed at helping agriculture officials quickly track livestock in cases of disease.
Indiana State Veterinarian Bret D. Marsh says Indiana will start its new livestock identification and documentation requirements on Jan. 1.
He says when a high-consequence disease, like bovine tuberculosis or foot-and-mouth disease, threatens a livestock sector, this program will make it easier to trace movements of specific animals to minimize impact on the industry.
Under the new laws, beef and dairy cattle owners must utilize one of three forms of official tags and producers must keep records of all purchases, sales, leases and movements of cattle and bison for five years.
