March 25, 2011

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) has issued an Importation Order for cattle and bison entering the state from designated surveillance areas in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming due to ongoing endemic brucellosis concerns.

“The Nebraska Department of Agriculture works hard to protect our state’s livestock industry. We feel it is important to have regulations in place to help safeguard our animals and protect the livelihood of our farmers and ranchers” said NDA Director Greg Ibach.

According to State Veterinarian Dr. Dennis Hughes, brucellosis can cause cattle and bison to abort or have premature calving. Infected cows can also suffer from retained placenta, and are often difficult to rebreed, sometimes becoming sterile.

The Importation Order is in addition to the current Nebraska Animal Importation Act and states:

It is hereby ordered that:

A. All sexually intact cattle and bison imported into Nebraska (except as noted in B and C below), which originate from a DSA within the GYA, as listed above in numbers 1 through 3, shall:

1. Be individually identified with permanent, official USDA/APHIS approved identification, except that market backtags shall not be considered a form of permanent, individual identification for purposes of this Order; or

2. Be individually identified to state of origin (Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming), so long as such identification:

a. Provides a unique identification number for the animal; and

b. Can be traced back to the herd where the tag was originally applied; and

3. Enter Nebraska with a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) which states, “These cattle and bison originated from within one of the DSAs and have permanent, individual identification.”

B. All sexually intact cattle and bison moving direct to slaughter from a DSA shall be individually identified with permanent, official USDA/APHIS approved identification, excluding market backtags. Such cattle and bison do not require a CVI to be imported into Nebraska, but the individual identification for each animal shall:

1. Identify the GYA state of origin; and
2. Allow the animal to be traced to the herd of original tag application.

C. All sexually intact cattle and bison, except those moving direct to slaughter, which originate from the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, but which do not originate from within one of the DSAs, shall enter Nebraska with a CVI which states, “These cattle and bison do not originate from within the DSA.”

The Designated Surveillance Area’s (DSA) mentioned in the order have been defined and established between the states involved and the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS). The states and counties currently within the DSA include:

Idaho – Teton, Bonneville, Fremont, Caribou and Bear Lake counties
Montana – Park, Gallatin, Madison and Beaverhead counties
Wyoming – Fremont, Park, Sublette, Lincoln and Teton counties

The Importation Order will take effect on April 1, 2011.  The complete order can be found on the NDA website.

NDA News Release