REVIEW: Animal Identification Systems in North America

Professional Animal Scientist, Aug 2008 by Murphy, R G L, Pendell, D L, Morris, D L, Scanga, J A, Belk, K E, Smith, G C

ABSTRACT

The threat of a livestock disease outbreak or other animal health events in North America is real. However, predicting both the timing and seventy of an outbreak can be extremely difficult. Animal identification and traceability programs can help limit the spread of disease. The overall objective of this review is to evaluate and compare animal identification and traceability systems in North America. Mandated animal identification programs, which exist for Canadian cattle and sheep and Mexican cattle, are designed to control and eradicate trade-limiting diseases and to maintain or gain access to international markets. In contrast, the United States has chosen to implement the National Animal Identification System as a voluntary program for cattle, sheep, and swine. However, the US sheep industry has operated with a mandatory National Scrapie Eradication Program since 2001, and the US pork industry has independently implemented a mandatory swine premises registry, which targeted 100% compliance by December 31, 2007, and a mandatory swine identification program targeting full compliance by December 31, 2008. Likewise, the Canadian National Hog Traceability and Identification System will become a mandatory program in 2008. It is recognized that a country's ability to respond to an animal disease outbreak is greatly enhanced with the implementation of a national animal identification program.

Key words: animal identification, traceability, Canada, Mexico, North America, United States

INTRODUCTION

The globalization of agriculture has expanded market opportunities for North American livestock producers. With the globalization of agriculture, the risk of animal disease outbreaks has heightened through the increased volume of animal transactions occurring in North America. The 1997 outbreak of classical swine fever in the Netherlands and recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and highly pathogenic avian influenza in many regions of the world clearly demonstrate that even countries with relatively sophisticated prevention and response programs are not impervious to debilitating animal disease outbreaks. A robust and comprehensive animal identification system capable of tracing animal movements and identifying infected premises with rapid individual animal-level precision could significantly enhance disease eradication efforts.

Animal identification programs throughout the world are not new ideas, but have existed for over 3,800 yr as a way to find and identify animals in the event of loss or theft, to enhance the value of livestock, and to control and eradicate various animal diseases (Blancou, 2001). But, as times change and disease concerns intensify, countries can implement comprehensive farm animal identification systems at the national level to satisfy consumer and export market concerns and to protect the integrity of the national livestock population (Barcos, 2001; USDA-APHIS, 2004; Smith et al, 2005). Specifically, with established animal identification programs already in place in Australia, Canada, and the European Union (among others), the United States is under competitive pressure to develop identification programs to serve its livestock industries (Barcos, 2001; USDA-APHIS, 2005b).

The primary objective of this review is to evaluate and compare animal identification and traceability systems in North America. In addition, the development of the US National Animal Identification System (NAIS) for cattle, sheep, and swine is discussed. The review of Canadian initiatives includes the Canadian Sheep Identification Program, the Canadian Hog Identification and Traceability System, and perhaps, most importantly, the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA), which was the first industry organization in Canada to address animal identification. The review of Mexican identification programs is, unfortunately, limited in scope because most of the information reported pertains to the National Individual Cattle Identification System, which was developed with the intent of assuring that the United States would allow importation of its beef cattle.

The remainder of the paper will analyze each country individually, beginning with the United States, followed by Canada, and then Mexico. Specifically, discussions are presented on the original mandate for animal identification programs, followed by a review of the literature regarding the identification programs for cattle, sheep, and swine within each country. This review is 1 of 4 reviews that describe 1) cattle identification in selected countries outside North America (Bowling et al., 2008); 2) swine identification in selected countries outside North America (Meisinger et al., 2008); and 3) identification of sheep in selected countries outside North America (Bass et al., 2008). When taken as group, these 4 reviews offer insight into animal identification and traceability throughout several countries of the world.

REVIEW AND DISCUSSION

United States of America

Animal identification programs have existed in the United States since the 1940s as part of an extensive program to eradicate bovine brucellosis from the national cowherd. The brucellosis vaccination tag and corresponding ear tattoo provided an effective and very successful animal identification program (USDA-APHIS, 2005a). Since 2001, the US sheep industry has used the mandatory National Scrapie Eradication Program (NSEP) to help eliminate scrapie from the national sheep flock (Wolf, 2006). The combination of the NSEP flock assignment system with the visual-based individual identification tracking system fulfills the traceability needs of the scrapie program (USDA-APHIS, 2006c). The US pork industry has used an identification system since 1988 to successfully eradicate pseudorabies from the commercial swine herd (National Pork Producers Council, 2007). Since that time, the National Pork Producers Council and the National Pork Board have worked together to expand the pseudorabies identification program into a national swine identification system capable of controlling and eradicating all swine diseases of concern (National Pork Producers Council, 2007b). However, as diseases near eradication, the need for control programs decrease and without animal identification systems in place, there will be nothing available to complete the disease eradication program (USDA-APHIS, 2005a).