345 IAC 1-2.6-10 Distribution and use of official eartags

Sec. 10. (a) A person that distributes official animal identification devices shall: (1) maintain for five (5) years a record of the names and addresses of anyone to whom the devices were distributed; and (2) enter the records into a database approved by the USDA. (b) Records of official identification applied to a client's animal by a: (1) federally accredited veterinarian; (2) licensed livestock market facility; or (3) licensed individual livestock dealer; must be kept in a readily accessible record system. (c) An individual subject to the records requirements of this section shall: (1) maintain records of sufficient accuracy and completeness to demonstrate compliance with 9 CFR 86 and this article; and (2) provide the board with access to all records, including visual inspection and reproduction, within forty-eight (48) hours after receiving a request or earlier, in response to an emergency disease event. (d) Not more than one (1) official eartag may be applied to an animal, except as follows: (1) Another official eartag may be applied if it bears the same official identification number as an existing one. (2) In specific cases when the need to maintain the identity of an animal is intensified, the state veterinarian may approve the application of an additional eartag to an animal that already has at least one (1) eartag. The person applying the additional official eartag shall record the following about the event and maintain the record for five (5) years: (A) The date the additional official eartag is added. (B) The reason for the additional official eartag device. (C) The official identification numbers of both the new official eartag and the one or ones already attached to the animal. (3) An eartag with an AIN beginning with the 840 prefix (either radio frequency identification or visual-only tag) may be applied to an animal that is already officially identified with at least one (1) NUES tag or an official brucellosis vaccination eartag. The person applying the AIN eartag shall: (A) record the date the AIN tag is added and the official identification numbers of both official eartags; and (B) maintain those records for five (5) years. (4) A brucellosis vaccination eartag with a NUES number may be applied under 345 IAC 2-6 to an animal that is already officially identified with at least one (1) official eartag. The person applying the vaccination eartag shall: (A) record the date the tag is added and the official identification numbers of both the existing official eartag or eartags and the vaccination eartag; and (B) maintain those records for five (5) years. (e) Official identification devices may not be removed. However, devices may be removed: (1) at the time of slaughter; (2) at any other location upon the death of the animal; or (3) as otherwise approved by the state veterinarian or a federal official. (f) Manmade identification devices affixed to livestock unloaded at slaughter plants must be removed at the slaughter facility by slaughter facility personnel, with the devices correlated with the animal and its carcass through final inspection or condemnation by means approved by the board. If diagnostic samples are taken, the identification devices must be packaged with the samples and correlated with the carcasses through final inspection or condemnation by means approved by the board. Devices collected at slaughter must be made available to the state veterinarian or a federal official. (g) Official identification devices affixed to livestock moved into the state or within the state to a site for rendering must be removed at the rendering facility and made available to the state veterinarian or a federal official. (h) If an animal loses an official identification device and needs a new one, a replacement tag may be applied as follows: (1) A replacement tag with a different official identification number may be applied. The person applying the new official identification device with a different official identification number shall record the following information about the event and maintain the record for five (5) years: (A) The date the new official identification device was added. (B) The official identification number on the device. (C) The official identification number on the old device, if known. (2) A duplicate replacement eartag with the official number of the lost tag may be applied under the USDA's protocol for administering those tags. (i) The state veterinarian may authorize replacing an official identification device on any of the following conditions: (1) Deterioration of the device so that loss of the device appears likely or the number can no longer be read. (2) Infection at the site where the device is attached, necessitating application of a device at another location. (3) Malfunction of the electronic component of a radio frequency identification (RFID) device. (4) Incompatibility or inoperability of the electronic component of an RFID device with the management system, or unacceptable functionality of the management system due to using an RFID device. (5) A determination by the state veterinarian that replacement will facilitate disease control in commerce. (6) When an official identification device is replaced, as authorized under this subsection, the person replacing the device shall record the following information about the event and maintain the record for five (5) years: (A) The date on which the device was removed. (B) Contact information for the location where the device was removed. (C) The official identification number on the device removed, if known. (D) The type of device removed. (E) The reason for the removal of the device. (F) The new official identification number on the replacement device. (G) The type of replacement device applied. (j) Official identification devices may not be sold or otherwise transferred from the premises to which they were originally issued without the authorization of the state veterinarian or the USDA.