As used in this part, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth in this section.

Accredited veterinarian. A veterinarian who is approved by the Administrator, in accordance with part 161 of this chapter, to perform official animal health work of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service specified in subchapters A, B, C, and D of this chapter and to perform work required by cooperative State-Federal disease control and eradication programs.

Administrator. The Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or any person authorized to act for the Administrator.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (APHIS).

Animal identification number (AIN). A numbering system for the official identification of individual animals in the United States that provides a nationally unique identification number for each animal. The AIN consists of 15 digits, with the first 3 being the country code (840 for the United States or a unique country code for any U.S. territory that has such a code and elects to use it in place of the 840 code). The alpha characters USA or the numeric code assigned to the manufacturer of the identification device by the International Committee on Animal Recording may be used as an alternative to the 840 or other prefix representing a U.S territory; however, only the AIN beginning with the 840 or other prefix representing a U.S. territory will be recognized as official for use on AIN tags applied to animals on or after March 11, 2015. The AIN beginning with the 840 prefix may not be applied to animals known to have been born outside the United States.

APHIS representative. An individual employed by APHIS who is authorized to perform the function involved.

Approved laboratory. A laboratory approved by the Administrator to conduct official testing in accordance with the regulations in §71.22.

Approved livestock facility. A stockyard, livestock market, buying station, concentration point, or any other premises under State or Federal veterinary supervision where livestock are assembled and that has been approved under §71.20.

Area veterinarian in charge. The veterinary official of APHIS who is assigned by the Administrator to supervise and perform the official animal health work of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in the State concerned.

Breeding sheep and goats. Any sexually intact sheep or goat that is not moving either directly to slaughter or through one or more restricted sales and/or terminal feedlots and then directly to slaughter.

Breeder swine. Sexually intact swine over 6 months of age.

Commingling. The mixing or assembling of swine from one premises with swine from any other premises, including, but not limited to, loading swine from more than one premises on the same truck, trailer, vessel, or railroad car, unless swine from different premises are kept separate on the means of conveyance by dividers.

Consistent States. Those States listed as consistent States in §79.1 of this subchapter because they meet certain standards, as provided in §79.6 of this subchapter, for conducting an active State scrapie program involving the identification of scrapie in sheep and goats for the purpose of controlling the spread of scrapie.

Department. The United States Department of Agriculture.

Feeder swine. Swine under 6 months of age that are not slaughter swine.

Flock-based number system. The flock-based number system combines a flock identification number (FIN) with a producer's unique livestock production numbering system to provide a nationally unique identification number for an animal.

Flock identification number (FIN). A nationally unique number assigned by a State, Tribal, or Federal animal health authority to a group of animals that are managed as a unit on one or more premises and are under the same ownership.

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The Food Safety and Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture.

Free area. The States, Territories, or the District of Columbia or portions thereof not quarantined by the Secretary of Agriculture for the specific contagious, infectious, or communicable animal disease mentioned in each part.

Group/lot identification number (GIN). The identification number used to uniquely identify a “unit of animals” of the same species that is managed together as one group throughout the preharvest production chain. When a GIN is used, it is recorded on documents accompanying the animals moving interstate; it is not necessary to have the GIN attached to each animal.

Horses. Horses, asses, mules, ponies, and zebras.

Inconsistent States. Those States not included in the list of consistent States appearing in §79.1 of this subchapter.

Interstate. From one State into or through any other State.

Interstate commerce. Trade, traffic, transportation, or other commerce between a place in a State and any place outside of that State, or between points within a State but through any place outside of that State.

Interstate swine movement report. A paper or electronic document signed by a producer moving swine giving notice that a group of animals is being moved across State lines in a swine production system. This document must contain the name of the swine production system; the name, location, and premises identification number of the premises from which the swine are to be moved; the name, location, and premises identification number of the premises to which the swine are to be moved; the date of movement; and the number, age, and type of swine to be moved. This document must also contain a description of any individual or group identification associated with the swine, the name of the swine production system accredited veterinarian(s), the health status of the herd from which the swine are to be moved, including any disease of regulatory concern to APHIS or to the States involved, and an accurate statement that swine on the premises from which the swine are to be moved have been inspected by the swine production system accredited veterinarian(s) within 30 days prior to the interstate movement and consistent with the dates specified by the premises' swine production health plan and found free from signs of communicable disease.

Livestock. All farm-raised animals.

Livestock market. A stockyard, buying station, concentration point, or any other premises where livestock are assembled for sale or sale purposes.

Move. To carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport; to aid, abet, cause, or induce carrying, entering, importing, mailing, shipping, or transporting; to offer to carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport; to receive in order to carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport; or to allow any of these activities.

National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN). The NAHLN is a nationally coordinated network and partnership of primarily Federal, State, and university-associated animal health laboratories that provide animal health diagnostic testing, methods research and development, and expertise for education and extension to detect biological threats to the nation's animal agriculture, thus protecting animal health, public health, and the nation's food supply.

National Uniform Eartagging System (NUES). A numbering system for the official identification of individual animals in the United States that provides a nationally unique identification number for each animal.

Official Brand Inspection Agency. The duly constituted body elected, appointed, or delegated or granted authority by a State or governmental subdivision thereof, to administer laws, regulations, ordinances or rules pertaining to the brand identification of livestock.

Official brand inspection certificate. A certificate issued by an official brand inspection agency in any State in which such certificates are required for movement of livestock.

Official eartag. An identification tag approved by APHIS that bears an official identification number for individual animals. Beginning March 11, 2014, all official eartags manufactured must bear an official eartag shield. Beginning March 11, 2015, all official eartags applied to animals must bear an official eartag shield. The design, size, shape, color, and other characteristics of the official eartag will depend on the needs of the users, subject to the approval of the Administrator. The official eartag must be tamper-resistant and have a high retention rate in the animal.

Official eartag shield. The shield-shaped graphic of the U.S. Route Shield with “U.S.” or the State postal abbreviation or Tribal alpha code imprinted within the shield.

Official identification device or method. A means approved by the Administrator of applying an official identification number to an animal of a specific species or associating an official identification number with an animal or group of animals of a specific species.

Official identification number. A nationally unique number that is permanently associated with an animal or group of animals and that adheres to one of the following systems:

(1) National Uniform Eartagging System (NUES).

(2) Animal identification number (AIN).

(3) Location-based number system.

(4) Flock-based number system.

(5) Any other numbering system approved by the Administrator for the official identification of animals.

Official swine tattoo. A tattoo, conforming to the six-character alpha-numeric National Tattoo System, that provides a unique identification for each herd or lot of swine.

Official testing. Testing to determine the disease status of animals for use in State-Federal programs. Tests are approved by the Administrator and conducted by qualified analysts in an approved laboratory.

Person. Any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, or joint stock company, or other legal entity.

Premises. A location where livestock or poultry are housed or kept.

Premises identification number (PIN). A nationally unique number assigned by a State, Tribal, and/or Federal animal health authority to a premises that is, in the judgment of the State, Tribal, and/or Federal animal health authority a geographically distinct location from other premises. The PIN may be used in conjunction with a producer's own unique livestock production numbering system to provide a nationally unique and herd-unique identification number for an animal. It may be used as a component of a group/lot identification number (GIN).

Purebred registry association. A swine breed association formed and perpetuated for the maintenance of records of purebreeding of swine species for a specific breed whose characteristics are set forth in constitutions, by-laws, and other rules of the association.

Quarantined area. The States, Territories, or the District of Columbia or portions thereof quarantined by the Secretary of Agriculture for the specific contagious, infectious, or communicable animal disease mentioned in each part.

Slaughter swine. Swine being sold or moved for slaughter purposes only.

State. Any of the 50 States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the District of Columbia, and any territories and possessions of the United States.

State animal health official. The State official responsible for livestock and poultry disease control and eradication programs.

State representative. An individual employed in animal health work by a State or a political subdivision thereof and authorized by such State or political subdivision to perform the function involved.

Swine production health plan. A written agreement developed for a swine production system designed to maintain the health of the swine and detect signs of communicable disease.

The plan must identify all premises that are part of the swine production system and that receive or send swine in interstate commerce and must provide for health monitoring of all swine within the system. Such health monitoring must include inspections by the swine production system accredited veterinarian(s). Inspections of all identified premises that contain swine that are or will be in the process of moving interstate within the swine production system and of all swine on those premises must be conducted by the accredited veterinarian(s) at intervals of no greater than 30 days. Inspections of all identified receiving premises that contain only swine that have completed their interstate movement within a single swine production system and of all swine on those premises must be conducted in accordance with State regulations. The plan must also describe the recordkeeping system of the swine production system. The plan will not be valid unless it is signed by an official of each swine production system identified in the plan, the swine production system accredited veterinarian(s), an APHIS representative, and the State animal health official from each State in which the swine production system has premises. In the plan, the swine production system must acknowledge that it has been informed of and has notified the managers of all its premises listed in the plan that any failure of the participants in the swine production system to abide by the provisions of the plan and the applicable provisions of this part and part 85 of this chapter constitutes a basis for the cancellation of the swine production health plan, as well as other administrative or criminal sanctions, as appropriate.

Swine production system. A swine production enterprise that consists of multiple sites of production; i.e., sow herds, nursery herds, and growing or finishing herds, but not including slaughter plants or livestock markets, that are connected by ownership or contractual relationships, between which swine move while remaining under the control of a single owner or a group of contractually connected owners.

Swine production system accredited veterinarian. An accredited veterinarian who is named in a swine production health plan for a premises within a swine production system and who performs inspection of such premises and animals and other duties related to the movement of swine in a swine production system.

Tick infested. Infested with the ticks Boophilus annulatus (Margaropus annulatus), Boophilus microplus, or Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi.

United States. All of the States.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved backtag. A backtag issued by APHIS that provides a temporary unique identification for each animal.

[28 FR 5937, June 13, 1963]