[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 215 (Monday, November 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 64714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-3052]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 04-119-1]


National Animal Identification System; Public Meeting

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Veterinary Services 
program of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, will host a meeting to provide stakeholders 
in the Department's National Animal Identification System (NAIS), 
particularly manufacturers and distributors of animal identification 
devices and technologies, with an opportunity to offer comments on the 
administration of animal identification numbers under the NAIS. 
Specifically, the session will focus on the anticipated roles and 
requirements for individuals, organizations, and companies that wish to 
become authorized animal identification number managers or distributors 
of approved animal identification devices.

DATES: The public meeting will be held Friday, November 19, 2004, from 
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Kansas City Airport 
Marriott, 775 Brasilia Avenue, Kansas City, MO.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Neil Hammerschmidt, Animal 
Identification Officer, National Center for Animal Health Programs, VS, 
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 43, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231, (301) 734-
5571.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 30, 2003, the Secretary of 
Agriculture announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 
would expedite the implementation of a National Animal Identification 
System (NAIS) for all animal species after the discovery of bovine 
spongiform encephalopathy in a cow in Washington State. On April 27, 
2004, following several months of development, the Secretary announced 
the framework for implementation of a NAIS designed to provide a unique 
identification number for agricultural premises and animals so that 
diseases can be more quickly contained and eradicated. The Secretary 
also announced that $18.8 million would be transferred from the 
Department's Commodity Credit Corporation to provide initial funding 
for the program during fiscal year (FY) 2004. The FY 2004 funding has 
been earmarked for the initial infrastructure development and 
implementation of the national system, but both private and public 
support will be required to make it fully operational. The 
Administration's proposed FY 2005 budget includes another $33 million 
for the effort.
    The NAIS will be implemented in several phases over time. 
Currently, the registration of premises, i.e., the locations where 
livestock are raised or held, is the primary activity of the NAIS. The 
second phase will involve the identification of animals. Certain 
species, such as cattle, will require individual identification, which 
will be accomplished by attaching to the animal an approved 
identification tag or device bearing an animal identification number 
(AIN). The AIN may be cross-referenced or linked to other technologies 
(e.g., radio frequency identification, retinal image, DNA, etc.) to 
automate the collection of the animal's number or to verify the 
animal's identification. Other species, such as swine and poultry, 
typically move through the production chain in groups or lots. These 
animals may be eligible for identification as a group.
    In order to facilitate the implementation of the NAIS, we are 
publishing an interim rule in the Rules and Regulations section of this 
issue of the Federal Register (APHIS Docket No. 04-052-1, ``Livestock 
Identification; Use of Alternative Numbering Systems'') that, among 
other things, amended the regulations to recognize additional numbering 
systems for the identification of animals in interstate commerce and 
State/Federal/industry cooperative disease control and eradication 
programs and to redefine the numbering system to identify premises 
where animals are managed or held. The interim rule recognizes 
numbering systems for individual animals, as well as groups or lots of 
animals within the same production system. Use of the new numbering 
systems will not, however, be required as a result of the interim rule.
    Various non-producer participants will be involved in administering 
the NAIS. One group of non-producer participants is the AIN managers, 
who will manufacture or provide distributors with approved 
identification devices or technologies containing the AIN. Another 
group is the AIN distributors, who will provide AIN tags or devices to 
premises that hold or manage livestock.
    The design and development of an AIN management system will be 
initiated in the near future. This system will require a method to 
approve entities to become authorized AIN managers and distributors and 
to evaluate performance. In addition, the system will need a method for 
the allocation and distribution of AINs and the approval of official 
animal identification devices.
    For implementation to be successful, it is imperative that we share 
our plans for the AIN management system with potential AIN managers and 
distributors and provide a forum for them to present their views. 
Therefore, we plan to conduct a public meeting on Friday, November 19, 
2004, at the Kansas City Airport Marriott, Kansas City, MO, for 
industry stakeholders, in particular those that manufacture and/or 
distribute animal identification devices. The focus of the session will 
be on the anticipated roles and responsibilities of AIN managers and 
distributors under the NAIS.
    The meeting will be open to the public and is intended to provide a 
forum for the exchange of information regarding the administration of 
AINs under the NAIS. The meeting is not intended to serve as an 
opportunity for the submission of comments regarding the interim rule 
published in this issue of the Federal Register (APHIS Docket No. 04-
052-1, ``Livestock Identification; Use of Alternative Numbering 
Systems''). Persons wishing to submit comments on that interim rule 
should refer to the commenting instructions contained in that document.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of November 2004.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
 [FR Doc. E4-3052 Filed 11-5-04; 8:45 am]
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