USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service developed the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) to identify and record the movement of livestock, poultry and other farmed animals1 throughout the United States in the event of an animal disease outbreak. Through NAIS, APHIS aims to achieve a 48-hour traceback of the movements of any diseased or exposed animal. APHIS maintains a list of of animal diseases and how NAIS can help reduce these risks.
APHIS derives authority to establish and implement the program from the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. ยง 8301 et seq.). NAIS consists of three components: premises registration, animal identification and animal tracing. Premises registration is the first step in the NAIS process, and the most basic. Participation in the premises registration portion of NAIS is voluntary at this time.2
Who can register, and how does it work?
Any direct farm business may register its livestock, poultry or other animal facility, no matter what the size of the operation or purpose of the facility. Examples of facilities that could be registered include u-pick or agritourism venues with a small number of animals (e.g., a petting zoo or animals used to create a pastoral effect), or a horse boarding and/or riding operation. Direct farm businesses that raise animals for food may also register. An owner may register an animal(s) even if the animal is not directly involved in, or related to, the purpose of the direct farm business.
In Illinois, the Illinois Department of Agriculture (ILDOA) is responsible for the NAIS program. Registration can be completed online or by mail. To register, the owner must provide basic information regarding the location of the animals (either a mailing address or latitude/longitude coordinates) and the owner's contact information. Upon registration, ILDOA assigns the facility a Premises Identification Number (PIN). ILDOA provides a separate PIN for animals kept at different locations.
For additional information, see the APHIS frequently asked questions web page and NAIS User Guide.3
1 Animals included on the Illinois Department of Agriculture registration form include: cattle/bison, swine, equines, ratites, deer/elk, llamas/alpacas, chickens, ducks, geese, pheasants, quail, turkeys, guineas, mink, fish (aquaculture), rabbits, sheep and goats.
2 USDA has no plan at this time to make participation in the registration component of NAIS mandatory. Individual states, however, may require registration or other components of NAIS. ILDOA originally announced that premises registration would be a precondition to exhibiting livestock at state, county, 4-H and FFA fairs in 2008. ILDOA dropped the requirement in April 2008, but still encourages registration. House Bill 5776, introduced in the 2008 legislative session, would prohibit ILDOA from making this type of registration mandatory unless required by federal law.
3 The link to USDA's website .pdf can be found here.
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