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2008 Policy Book
First | Previous | Next | Last | 2008 Index | Policy Book Archive#22 LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY HEALTH
As the world becomes more open to international trade, the potential for transmission of communicable diseases among the agricultural community increases. The uncontrolled spread of diseases through intentional or unintentional means can result in economic devastation to the entire agricultural system.
We recommend the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service work cooperatively to identify and develop potential regulations to control the spread of diseases. These regulations should include, but not be limited to, developing a system to monitor live and dead domestic and game animals and birds coming into Michigan.
It is imperative we protect the health of the livestock, dairy, equine, poultry and aquaculture operations in Michigan and across the United States. A healthy animal population is critical to our overall agricultural economy. However, there are times when restrictions are put in place that limit or prohibit marketing opportunities which reach far beyond the intended consequences, or simply have not been well thought out by the entity imposing the restriction. We are strongly opposed to restrictions that limit or eliminate the marketing opportunities for the livestock, dairy, equine, poultry and aquaculture industries and their products without sound scientific justification.
When marketing channels are limited or eliminated by the government for any portion of a particular industry, for the protection of the whole, we strongly support indemnification for the impacted industry.
We urge MDA to provide adequate staffing to ensure proper monitoring of the State's swine herd to maintain our achieved pseudorabies status. We support elimination of the testing requirement for swine intended for exhibition.
We urge continued research on health-related issues that impact our livestock industry.
We urge all equine owners to consult with their veterinarian and have their horses, ponies and mules vaccinated for infectious and contagious diseases.
All fairs, racing events, sale barns, riding stables and other occasions where equine are co-mingled should require a yearly Equine Infections Anemia (EIA)\Coggins test and have the papers inspected before entry into the grounds or facilities.
We encourage the MDA to work with animal health officials in other states to develop a standardized set of EIA\Coggins testing guidelines that allow for a more uniform set of testing and movement procedures.
We recognize the need for feed additives and medication in livestock feeds. We favor careful use and withdrawal restrictions of feed additives. We oppose the banning of such additives without sound scientific evidence that these additives pose a threat to animal and human health. We support the use of rendered ruminant and other species protein as feed additives to rations for swine and poultry. Strict safeguards, however, need to be in place to prevent cross contamination of ruminant feeds with ruminant by-product during the formulation of the feed additives.
We urge Michigan Farm Bureau, Michigan State University (MSU), MDA and USDA to:
- Provide sufficient funding and programs for animal health education, disease monitoring, border inspections and disease eradication that protect the United States livestock industry and ensure continued market access.
- Increase efforts on the development of a genetic or live animal diagnostic test for Scrapie and BSE.
We oppose importation of livestock that does not meet import testing requirements as deemed appropriate by the Director of Agriculture, have appropriate quarantine protocols in place, and have an animal I.D. system to track the movement of livestock to prevent the possible spread of disease.
We recommend that a board of animal health be appointed and convened to coordinate activities, programs, and regulations to expedite the control and eradication of animal diseases. The board should consist of producers and industry representatives, MDA, DNR, Public Health, MSU Veterinary Medicine and USDA.
In order to better monitor Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in the State's wild deer herd and to prevent CWD infected material from entering the State, all out-of-state hunter-harvested deer should be tested for CWD at the state of origin.
We urge Michigan to institute an aggressive cost-effective Johne's detection and control program. We encourage the acceptance and inclusion of new technologies, such as milk screening and rapid fecal testing, in this program. We encourage the MSU Animal Science Department, MSU College of Veterinary Medicine, MSU Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory, MSU Extension and MDA to work cooperatively to develop control and prevention guidelines to assist producers in managing Johne's disease. We urge these groups to make available educational programs and accurate, economical diagnostic testing necessary for an effective Johne's disease certification program.
We support the swift implementation of a mandatory identification system for Michigan's livestock industry and encourage the continued utilization of producer input into the development and implementation. We support cost-share where feasible. Producer information shall remain proprietary, not subject to the Freedom of Information Act or any other public use.
We support the timely development and implementation of an electronic database for Michigan cattle and allow availability of movement certificates at no charge on-line in real time, 24 hours, seven days a week.
We oppose mandatory rabies vaccination for farm cats. We encourage livestock producers to consider rabies vaccination for all pets and become educated about the disease. We encourage the development and availability of bait vaccines.
