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Albany, NY - New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick H. Brennan announced the State's progress in establishing the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), an animal identification and tracking system that is currently voluntary for producers and will operate under national protocol. The Department is said to be ahead of schedule in relation to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) benchmarks and has submitted approximately 33% of premises to USDA for registration with the NAIS.

The NAIS has three phases: premises identification, animal identification and animal tracking. The Department is currently engaged in implementing the first phase, which entails obtaining unique and standardized Premises Identification Numbers (PINs) for all livestock and poultry premises in the State, including cattle, camelids (alpacas and llamas), cervids (deer and elk), goats, horses, poultry, sheep, swine and farmed fish. It is estimated that New York has 40,134 animal premises. So far, the Department has submitted 13,176 identification numbers for NAIS premises registration.

In April 2004, USDA announced the framework for implementing the NAIS, which is expected to enhance U.S. efforts to respond to animal disease outbreaks more quickly and effectively. USDA's long-term goal is to establish a system that can identify all premises and animals that have had direct contact with a foreign animal disease or a domestic disease of concern within 48 hours of discovery.

SOURCE: The NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets