Julie and Onalee,
Please read http://www.animalagriculture.org/scrapie/NIAA%20Producer%20Kit.pdf . That document states that
"The following animals will need ID (ear tags or tattoos):
� All breeding sheep regardless of age.
� All sheep 18 months and older"
Here is California State Veterinarian contact info:
Dr. Paul O. Ugstad, Area Veterinarian-In-Charge
Dr. Phillip S. LaRussa, Dr. Granville A. Richey II, Assistant Area Veterianarians-In-Charge
9580 Micron Ave., Suite E
Sacramento, California 95827
phone: (916) 857-6170
fax: (916) 857-6196
I recommend you contact them and get their official word. There is still a lot of confusion, even at the government level, about this program. Get the name of the person you spoke to and, preferably, have them email you their official position for your records.
One of the reasons for such confusion is the ambiguity of the terminology that the government uses. They had "black-face commercial wool sheep" in mind when they drew up these rules (because those are the sheep most likely to carry scrapie). Therefore, the terms "slaughter animals" and "animals for grazing" (groups of sheep possibly exempt from ID requirements) mean something very different than what we Blackbelly breeders think the terms mean. According to my State scrapie inspector, Blackbellies are not slaughter animals even if I'm hauling them down to the butcher. The gov thinks of slaughter animals as sheep in feed lots fattening up prior to commercial slaughter. Those Blackbellies grazing out in my pasture are not "animals for grazing" because the gov defines that term as commercial sheep grazing BLM and other huge acreages during the summer. So it may very well be that our Blackbellies are not exempt.
Because I participate in the more stringent voluntary scrapie certification program, I have to tag ALL of my sheep with special tamper-proof tags. However, for the rest of you who need only comply with the scrapie eradication program, here is what I personally would do if I were you:
1. I would order the FREE applicator and as many FREE tags as you are allowed (200 should do you just fine).
2. I would order a supply of small brass tags and applicator that Premier sells.
3. The day after a lamb is born, I would assign that lamb a number, apply a small brass tag, and create a record of that lamb's birth.
4. When that lamb leaves my farm, regardless of where or why or when, I would apply a scrapie tag. I would ensure that the number I assigned at birth is the same number on the brass tag AND the scrapie tag so that my record-keeping stays straight.
5. I would keep that lamb's record for 5 years.
6. As for the breeding stock that stays on my farm, I would apply the small brass tag and create a record. I would NOT apply the scrapie tag because of the likelihood that it will rip out. But I would have that tag on hand so that if I ever needed to quickly scrapie tag the animal, I would be prepared.
As soon as the government completes its National Animal Identification Program, all of this will be moot because your government will force you to tag all of your animals whether you want to or not.
Carol
At 07:37 AM 5/31/2004 -0700, you wrote:
I have questions about scrapie and the eartags. I am all confused about the whole thing. I know what scrapie is, I have read a bit about it. What I am not sure of is the law on the eartags. Does everyone have to put eartags of any kind on their sheep, especially the ones they sell? Or is it just if you sell to someone that will be taking the sheep out of state. I live in Northern California, close to Redding. If someone else lives in California maybe they can tell me what the law is. We are mainly raising the sheep for our own use but will sell some of the lambs later on. The sheep we bought didn't have eartags of any kind on them.
Carol Elkins Critterhaven Estate Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz T-shirts, mugs, caps, and more at the Barbados Blackbelly Online Store http://www.cafepress.com/blackbellysheep
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