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25LSO-0515
ORIGINAL Senate
ENGROSSED
File No
.
SF0064
ENROLLED ACT NO. 22,
SENATE
SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2025 General Session
AN ACT relating to agriculture, livestock and other animals; providing policies on identification of livestock for disease traceability; specifying that buyers of livestock in receiving states are responsible for the usage of electronic ear tags; requiring the Wyoming livestock board to inform livestock producers of their livestock identification options; providing legislative findings; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
.
W.S. 11
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18
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121 is created to read:
11
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18
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121.
Identification of livestock; livestock board responsibilities.
(a)
The Wyoming livestock board shall inform livestock producers of all available options under W.S. 11
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18
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117 for identification regarding disease traceability.
(b)
The buyers of livestock in receiving states shall be responsible for tagging livestock if an electronic identification device requirement is mandated in the receiving state, unless the Wyoming livestock owner has voluntarily utilized electronic identification devices.
(c)
Nothing in this section shall prohibit a Wyoming licensed and accredited veterinarian from writing a certificate of veterinary inspection in compliance with applicable destination requirements.
Section 2
.
(a)
The legislature finds that:
(i)
Wyoming and the nation's voluntary livestock identification system has served the livestock industry well for decades;
(ii)
The United States department of agriculture's animal and plant health inspection service announced a final rule in April of 2024 that would require certain livestock to wear electronically readable devices in order to prevent and manage livestock disease outbreaks;
(iii)
If the United States department of agriculture and the animal and plant health inspection service were concerned with and focused on preventing a livestock disease outbreak, they would stop the importation of livestock from countries that have known and documented problems with disease, yet they do not do so;
(iv)
The vast majority of livestock affected by this mandatory electronic identification rule originate from wide open spaces and live on clean, disease
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free pastures and not in confined areas with thousands of livestock coming from different areas;
(v)
The United States department of agriculture and the animal and plant health inspection service have stated that a seventy percent (70%) compliance rate with mandatory electronic identification usage would be necessary to make the identification program an effective disease traceability requirement;
(vi)
Wyoming already has livestock identification methods that are far superior to the mandatory electronic identification rules that, according to the United States department of agriculture and the animal and plant health inspection service, are specifically targeted to apply to only eleven percent (11%) of all livestock in the country; and
(vii)
The mandatory electronic identification rule was put in place by a federal government agency rather than being voted on by the United States congress, making it only a rule and not codified law.
(b)
It is the policy of the state of Wyoming that:
(i)
Wyoming is opposed to the animal and plant health inspection service's rule mandating electronic identification devices for Wyoming livestock;
(ii)
W.S. 11
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18
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117 clearly defines the terms by which the Wyoming livestock industry can continue to do business and have the freedom, right and liberty to use historically reliable, affordable, confidential and voluntary methods of livestock identification, including brands, backtags, tattoos and ear tags;
(iii)
Wyoming will seek to work with existing metal identification tag manufacturers to produce those tags historically used to confirm livestock health and identity;
(iv)
Wyoming is committed to working with other states to develop agreements and arrangements to allow livestock to be transported to and from Wyoming without being required to use electronic identification ear tags;
(v)
Wyoming shall demand that the United States department of agriculture and the animal and plant health inspection service provide a complete and full accounting and accurate estimate of all costs associated with mandating that Wyoming's livestock producers use electronic identification ear tags, including costs associated with hardware, software, ear tags, wands, retrofitting of livestock handling facilities, retrofitting of sales barns, working of livestock and costs related to additional paperwork, digital input and filings necessary to prove compliance with the electronic identification ear tag rule to the Wyoming legislature.
Section 3
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This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.
(END)
Speaker of the House
President of the Senate
Governor
TIME APPROVED: _________
DATE APPROVED: _________
I hereby certify that this act originated in the Senate.
Chief Clerk
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