LAC 7:XXI.761. Identification of Cattle with Official Backtags and the Collection of Blood Samples from Officially Backtagged Cattle at Slaughter Establishments under State or Federal Meat Inspection (Formerly §329)

A. Official Backtagging of Cattle 1. All cattle over 24 months of age that are not officially backtagged when received by a slaughter establishment under state or federal meat inspection shall be identified by official backtag, properly placed. The name and address of the consignor, and the name and address of the owner of the herd of origin, if different from that of the consignor, shall be recorded, along with the official backtag numbers, on forms provided for this purpose. A copy shall be retained by the slaughter establishment for their records; the original is to be furnished the meat inspector to accompany blood samples to the laboratory. 2. The slaughter establishment shall be responsible for the identification of the animals and for maintaining required records. 3. Exemptions from this regulation are: a. steers and spayed females; b. Brucellosis branded animals; or c. Brucellosis exposed ("S" branded) animals. B. Records. All records pertaining to the identification of the cattle, name and address of consignor and the name and address of the owner of the herd of origin, if different from that of the consignor, shall be maintained and made available to representatives of the Livestock Sanitary Board upon request. C. Blood Sample Collection. A blood sample shall be collected from each head of backtagged cattle over 24 months of age, except steers, spayed females and branded Brucellosis reactors. State and federal meat inspection personnel shall be responsible for the collection of the blood samples; the identification of the samples; and the packaging and mailing of the blood samples, corresponding backtags and forms to the state-federal livestock diagnostic laboratory in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.