INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The details of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) continue to stir questions for Hoosier livestock farmers, industry representatives and government officials. To listen to some of those concerns and address a new rule that clarifies language pertaining to the implementation of NAIS, the Indiana Board of Animal Health hosted a public hearing on Oct. 11 in Indianapolis, Ind.

However, only one public voice made its way to the hearing in opposition of NAIS and its realization in Indiana.

“This just blows my mind and I don’t understand the purpose of this,” said Eurrat Saylor, Jr., owner of End of the Trail Stable in northern Indiana. “It seems like a lot of work to control the small livestock stuff.

“And plus, we already tag all hogs and cattle that go through sale barns, so tell me why do we need additional identification.” BOAH officials quickly chimed in to clarify that the new rule merely states that any involvement with Stages 2 or 3 of NAIS will continue to be on a voluntary basis for Hoosier producers until further notice. According to State Veterinarian Brett Marsh, Stages 2 and 3 of NAIS focus on individual animal identification and animal tracing. Neither of which have been implemented in Indiana.

“We want to make sure that everyone understands that there are three phases of NAIS, for Indiana – stages 2 and 3 are voluntary,” said Marsh. “It has always been our intention to do so, that’s what we want to do, make sure it’s in black and white and that there is no confusion in this area.”

“This document does not endorse or extend the statement of NAIS, it merely restates our position for it to be voluntary,” said John Baker, swine veterinarian, who serves on the Board.

However, stage 1 of NAIS, the premise identification program, became mandatory beginning in September of 2006, as all Indiana sites associated with the sale, purchase or exhibition of hogs, cattle, sheep, goats must be registered with BOAH.

According to Marsh, the premise identification initiative identified the exact locations of more than 22,000 sites statewide, building a foundation for an “animal health 911” system.

A second part of the rule, voted on and passed unanimously by the Board during their October meeting, clarified that all animals going to a fair or other exhibition need identification even if a certificate of veterinary inspection is not required.

“We’re just bringing up to date what the ID requirement had previously left in limbo,” said Baker. “We are trying to move away from the certificate of veterinary inspection, we’re making a lot of progress in the state.”

EHD makes its way to Indiana

In addition to NAIS, the Board also discussed the growing impact of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) on deer and its potential devastation to the cattle industry across the state of Indiana. In fact, just last week 12 cattle died unexpectedly on a southern Indiana beef cattle farm, suspected of suffering from the deadly EHD virus, known commonly to affect wild white-tailed deer.

According to BOAH officials, EHD is not transmitted from one animal to another by direct contact, and it is not transmissible to humans.

“Many cattle died recently on a Clark County farm, even though the diagnosis is still out, it’s definitely not EHD, it’s not the Bluetongue virus; it appears to be a grain overload issue,” said Doug Metcalf, chief of staff at BOAH.

However, Metcalf and Marsh urged veterinarians and producers to be on the lookout for deer and/or cattle that may exhibit signs of the EHD virus.

“EHD causes severe, flu-like symptoms, including a high fever. This causes infected animals to seek open water in streams or ponds to cool off. From what we’ve seen – animals suffering from EHD exhibit oral and nasal discharge, lesions on the lips, lacerations and they are reluctant to eat forage,” said Marsh.

“We don’t want to be the one to miss this if it hits,” said Metcalf. “Right now, we’re encouraging practitioners to double-check cattle if they see any of the signs that we just talked about. We’ve spent a lot of time on this, we haven’t seen mortality in cattle yet, but we have on deer.”

Metcalf also mentioned a current Missouri treatment in the works that would require 30,000 deer in the state to be vaccinated for EHD. “We know this has had a tremendous impact on wildlife farms in Indiana,” said Metcalf. “We’re cooperating in moderation. To completely eradicate EHD on such an increased level, should it get to that would be pretty difficult.”

Metcalf explained that recent cases indicating the loss of deer seem to be consistent with EHD throughout Indiana, particularly in the southern-most third of the state.

Initial investigations by DNR biologists do point to EHD, which is transmitted by small flying insects called biting midges. Some of these cases have been confirmed by laboratory testing, Metcalf added, the only way to definitively determine the cause of the disease.