Commissioners for the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state’s livestock and poultry health regulatory agency, met on Feb. 16 and postponed taking action on proposed regulations that would require identification of physical locations where livestock (including horses), exotic livestock, domestic fowl, and exotic fowl are held, managed, or handled.

Bob Hillman, DVM, Texas state veterinarian and TAHC executive director, explained that postponing action on the proposed rule that would make premises registration in Texas compulsory on July 1 does not mean that the issue has been resolved. TAHC commissioners will reconsider the proposed rule at a meeting to be held on March 23. The meeting will be at 8 a.m. in the Marriott North Hotel at 2600 La Frontera Blvd. in Round Rock, Texas, and it will be open to the public.

“Although commission action on the proposed regulations has been postponed, we continue to encourage voluntary premises registration, which, as of today (Feb. 17), includes more than 7,000 of the state’s 200,000 or more farms, ranches, or other facilities,” said Hillman.

Premises registration is the foundation for the three-tiered National Animal Identification System (NAIS), which, when fully implemented, is designed to enable animal health officials to trace the movement of diseased or exposed livestock or poultry within 48 hours. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has spearheaded NAIS development since 2004, with the cooperation of national species working group committees