News Release

For immediate release: Friday June 24, 2011

Contact: Malissa Fritz, BAH Communications Director, 651-201-6830

Import permits required for cattle and bison starting August 1

St. Paul, Minn - In a continued effort to enhance Minnesota's animal disease traceability system, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health will require import permits for breeding cattle and bison entering the state starting on August 1, 2011.

"The state has worked hard to eliminate bovine Tuberculosis (TB) over the past five years," said Minnesota State Veterinarian and Executive Director of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health Dr. Bill Hartmann. "It's our job at the Board to safeguard animal health and this will greatly assist us in our efforts to trace cattle in a disease investigation quickly."

Information that will be collected and required in order to obtain a free import permit include:

• Name, address and telephone number for the veterinarian issuing the Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI);
• The CVI number;
• Name, address and telephone number for the origin of the cattle; and
• Name, address and telephone number for the destination of the cattle (destination refers to the physical location the cattle will be residing at and not a business or home address).

The Board will also require information on the type of official identification that has been used on the cattle. For a complete list of approved official identification, visit the Board's Official Animal ID for Cattle and Bison.

Breeding cattle includes all sexually intact cattle except beef heifers under 24 months imported for feeding purposes. All intact dairy heifers will require a permit, regardless of age. A permit will not be required for bulls less than 10 months imported for feeding purposes.

Individuals requesting a permit to import cattle or wanting to determine if a permit is needed should call the Minnesota Board of Animal Health at 651-296-2942.

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