Itinerary Requirements for 6-Month Equine Passports to be Enforced

The Montana Department of Livestock says it will be more stringently enforcing requirements for six-month equine travel passports. Those rules (ARM 32.3.216) include:

Six-month passports cannot be used for sale of horses, breeding or stays of longer than 90 days; lifetime brand inspections are required for six-month passports; a preliminary itinerary must be submitted to the state veterinarian’s office prior to traveling; a post-season travel itinerary must be submitted within 10 days of the passport’s expiration to be eligible for a passport in 2014.

State veterinarian Dr. Marty Zaluski said the decision to enforce the rules was made after states that participate in the six-month passport program determined there was inadequate compliance with itinerary requirements.

“In short, we had horses moving around with no record of where they were going or where they had been,” Zaluski said. “Their travel and exposure history is essential in the case of a disease outbreak or other animal health emergency.”

The recent cases of EHV-1 in Montana, and larger outbreaks such as those experienced in Utah, Florida and other states, highlight the need for pertinent travel documentation, he added.

 

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