Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 3, § 831.2 - Official Identification Devices and Methods of Cattle and Bison
(a)
Approved official identification devices or methods for cattle and bison
required to be officially identified for movement are as follows:
(1) An official eartag; or
(2) Brands registered with a state's official
brand recording authority and accompanied by an official Brand Inspection
Certificate when agreed to by the Department and animal health officials in the
shipping state; or
(3) Tattoos and
other identification methods acceptable to a breed association for registration
purposes, accompanied by a breed registration certificate when agreed to by the
Department and animal health officials in the shipping state; or
(4) Group/lot identification when a group/lot
identification number may be used.
(b) No more than one official eartag may be
applied to an animal, except when:
(1) Another
official eartag bears the same official identification number as an existing
one.
(2) Approved by the Department
or USDA for intensified purposes. The person applying the additional official
eartag must record the following information about the event and maintain the
record for five (5) years:
(A) Date the
additional official eartag is added;
(B) Reason for the additional official eartag
device;
(C) Official identification
numbers of both the new official eartag and the one(s) already attached to the
animal.
(3) An eartag
with an animal identification number (AIN) beginning with the 840 prefix
(either Electronic Identification Device or visual-only tag) may be applied to
an animal that is already officially identified with one or more National
Uniform Eartagging System tags and/or an official vaccination eartag used for
brucellosis. The person applying the AIN eartag must record the following
information about the event and maintain the record for five (5) years:
(A) Date the AIN tag is added; and
(B) Official identification numbers of all
official eartags.
(4) A
brucellosis vaccination eartag with a National Uniform Eartagging System number
pursuant to Title 3, California Code of Regulations, section
752(c) may be
applied to an animal that is already officially identified with one or more
official eartags under this article. The person applying the vaccination eartag
must record the following information about the event and maintain the record
for five (5) years:
(A) Date the tag is added
and
(B) Official identification
numbers of all the existing official eartag(s) and the vaccination
eartag.
(c)
Removal or loss of official identification devices.
(1) Removal of official identification
devices, including devices applied to imported animals in their countries of
origin and recognized by the Department or USDA as official, is prohibited
except at the time of slaughter, at any other location upon the death of the
animal, or as otherwise approved by the Department or USDA when a device needs
to be replaced.
(2) If diagnostic
samples are taken at State Licensed Custom Slaughter Plants, pursuant to Food
and Agricultural Code sections 19010-19017, the identification devices must be
packaged with the samples and be correlated with the carcasses through final
inspection or condemnation. Devices collected at slaughter must be made
available to the Department and USDA by the slaughter plant.
(3) All official identification devices
affixed to livestock carcasses moved for rendering must be removed at the
rendering facility and made available to the Department and USDA.
(4) If an animal loses an official
identification device and needs a new one:
(A)
A replacement tag with a different official identification number may be
applied. The person applying a new official identification device with a
different official identification number must record the following information
about the event and maintain the record for five (5) years:
1. Date the new official identification
device was added;
2. Official
identification number on the device;
3. Official identification number on the old
device if known.
(B)
Replacement of a temporary identification device with a new official
identification device is considered to be a retagging event, and all applicable
information must be maintained in accordance with (c)(4)(A) above.
(C) A duplicate replacement eartag with the
official number of the lost tag may be applied in accordance with the USDA's
protocol for the issuance of duplicate official identification
eartags.
(d)
The Department or USDA may authorize the replacement of an official
identification device for reasons other than loss, including but not limited
to, when:
(1) Deterioration of the device
such 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 in the ear;
(3)
Malfunction of the electronic component of an Electronic Identification Device
(EID) device; or
(4)
Incompatibility or inoperability of the electronic component of an EID device
with the management system or unacceptable functionality of the management
system due to use of an EID device; and
(5) The person replacing an official
identification device for reasons other than loss must 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 (to
the extent possible) on the device removed;
(D) The type of device removed (e.g., metal
eartag, EID eartag);
(E) The reason
for the removal of the device;
(F)
The new official identification number on the replacement device; and
(G) The type of replacement device
applied.
(e)
USDA-accredited and state-licensed veterinarians or other persons or entities
distributing official eartags or any person applying official eartags to
animals on behalf of the owner must record the following information about the
event and maintain the record for five (5) years:
(1) The names and addresses of anyone to whom
the eartags were distributed or the owner of the animals;
(2) Official identification numbers of the
eartags distributed or applied; and
(3) The date of distribution or
application.
(f) The
distribution or application of official eartags must be reported to the
Department's Animal Health Branch within seven (7) calendar days following the
end of each reporting quarter, even if no tags were distributed or applied.
USDA-accredited and state-licensed veterinarians or other persons or entities
distributing official eartags, or any person applying official eartags to
animals on behalf of the owner, may use the Report of Official Ear Tags
Distributed or Applied, AHB Form 76-210, as provided by the Department, or
another form or method, to report the distribution or application of tags,
which at minimum must contain the following information:
(1) Name and address of the veterinary clinic
or facility distributing or applying tags;
(2) Name of veterinarian or person
distributing or applying tags; and veterinary license number, if
applicable;
(3) Reporting year and
reporting quarter (March, June September, or December);
(4) Starting and ending tag
numbers;
(5) The date of
distribution or application; and
(6) Premises or owner name; physical address,
city, zip and telephone number where tags were distributed to or location of
animals when tagged.
(7) Official
eartags distributed to a livestock facility must only be used on animals
maintained on that facility.
(8)
The Department may only distribute additional official eartags upon receipt of
the record as described in subsections (f)(1) through (f)(6) above documenting
use and/or distribution of official ear tags provided by the
Department.
(g) Official
identification devices are not to be sold or otherwise transferred from the
premises to which they were originally issued to another premises without
authorization by the Department or USDA.
(h) The Department or USDA may authorize the
use of additional devices or methods if such additional devices or methods will
provide for adequate traceability.
Notes
2. Amendment of subsections (c)(4)(C), (e), (f) and (f)(8) filed 8-31-2021; operative 10-1-2021 (Register 2021, No. 36).
Note: Authority cited: Sections 407 and 10610, Food and Agricultural Code. Reference: Sections 9561, 9562, 9932, 10324, 10325, 10326 and 10610, Food and Agricultural Code.
2. Amendment of subsections (c)(4)(C), (e), (f) and (f)(8) filed 8-31-2021; operative
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