Florida agriculture officials have temporarily suspended intrastate requirements for those animals fleeing areas that could be hit by Hurricane Wilma.

Also, “Georgia and Alabama have waived the interstate requirements for those animals fleeing the potential impact areas of the storm,” added Michael A. Short, DVM, equine programs manager in Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Animal Industry.

While it is not required, it was recommended that livestock owners have routinely required interstate movement documentation to expedite the travel process. If animals travel out of Florida, owners need to stop at the Florida agriculture interdiction stations and obtain a simple document indicating the address of origin and destination of the animals and carry those to Georgia or Alabama. Short has explained that this documentation helps agricultural law enforcement officials know who is moving and when they are returning, so that livestock owners can re-enter with the same requirements as when they fled the hurricane.

The Division of Animal Industry has posted on its Emergency Evacuation web site a list of facilities accepting livestock in the Southeast: www.doacs.state.fl.us/ai/adc/adc_emerg_manag_links.shtml