Blood and Tissue Collection at Slaughtering and Rendering Establishments

We are amending the regulations governing interstate transportation of animals to establish requirements for the collection of blood and tissue samples from livestock (horses, cattle, bison, captive cervids, sheep and goats, swine, and other farm-raised animals) and poultry at slaughtering and rendering establishments when it is necessary for disease surveillance. Any person who moves livestock or poultry interstate for slaughter or rendering may only move the animals to a slaughtering or rendering establishment listed by the Administrator. The Administrator may list an establishment after determining either that the establishment provides the type of space and facilities specified by the regulations to safely collect blood and tissue samples for disease testing; or that it is not currently necessary to conduct testing at the establishment because the data collected through such testing would not significantly assist the Agency's disease surveillance programs and the facility has agreed to allow testing and provide access to facilities upon future APHIS notification that testing is required. This change will affect persons moving livestock or poultry interstate for slaughter or rendering, slaughtering and rendering plants that receive animals in interstate commerce, and, in cases where test-positive animals are successfully traced back to their herd or flock of origin, the owners of such herds or flocks. The long-term effects of this change will be to improve surveillance programs for animal diseases, to contribute to the eventual control or eradication of such diseases, and to assist in certifying the status of the United States or its regions with regard to freedom from specific animal diseases.