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Animal Disease Traceability

The USDA has developed the Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) rule that regulates interstate movement of animals. The State of New Hampshire has had its own requirements for imported animals for many years.

  1. Official identification methods,
  2. Required documentation for interstate movement, and
  3. Record keeping, for cattle, bison, swine, goats, sheep, cervids, horses and poultry.

The rule went into effect on March 11, 2013, with the understanding that the first few months would focus on education and outreach to state regulators and stakeholders regarding the new requirements. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (MDACF) is providing this letter and supplemental materials to highlight important points from the rule that are likely to affect your clients' livestock operations.

The federal ADT rule indicates which animals must have official identification for interstate transport, as well as which identification methods are acceptable (summarized below). Under the ADT rule, official identification is defined as a nationally unique number that is permanently associated with an animal or group of animals and that adheres to one of the following systems:

  1. National Uniform Ear tagging System (NUES)
  2. Animal Identification Number (AIN)
  3. Flock-based number system
  4. Location-based number system
sheep in field

Read the entire rulepdf file

Animal identification is designed to reduce the financial and social impacts of a potential disease outbreak. It is important to uphold and continue confidence in New Hampshire's agricultural and livestock products.

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Contact Us

Dr. Stephen Crawford, State Veterinarian
Telephone: (603) 271-2404
Fax: (603) 271-1109
stephen.crawford@agr.nh.gov

Visit the Contact Us page for Division of Animal Industry contact information.

Portable Document Format SymbolPortable Document Format (.pdf). Visit nh.gov for a list of free .pdf readers for a variety of operating systems.


NH Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food
Mailing: PO Box 2042, Concord NH 03302 -2042
Physical: 1 Granite Place South, Suite 211, Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-3551 | fax: (603) 271-1109