Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> An entry permit is required for all horses (and mules, donkeys,  zebras....)entering >Illinois.  This DOES NOT include animals passing  through Illinois,only animals stopping in >Illinois.
>
> THERE IS NO COST FOR THE PERMIT.  All that is involved is a telephone
> call to the Department of Agriculture (217-782-4944 24/7) telling who
> owns the horse and where it is going (show, trail ride,
> breeding....)  The entry permit number is issued immediately, and
> normally the call takes around 2 minutes.  Entry permits are normally
> obtained by your veterinarian and recorded on your health certificate
> at the time it is issued.  Please note: Health certificates are
> required on all equines any time you cross a state line.  This is not
> just Illinois' requirement.  Health certificates are good for 30 days.
>
> Why the permit?  Well, first off, permits have been required for most
> livestock for years.  The permit is used to monitor what is entering
> the state (primarily for statistical purposes).  However, permit
> information has been used to track animal diseases.  Pseudorabies, a
> common disease in swine several years ago, is a good example.  IDOA
> would be notified by another department of ag that pseduorabies has
> been diagnosed in one of their herds. Permits are checked to see if
> animals from that herd entered Illinois, and if so, testing commenced
> immediately in the Illinois herd (PRV is highly contagious).
>
> So why add horses?  Since 911, everything needs to be looked at as a
> potential biological weapon (maybe I'm too strong here).  Livestock,
> because of the movement throughout the country, would be an easy way
> to spread disease, disease not only that affects that particular
> species, but also man.  A disease could be released by a terrorist at
> a livestock concentration point, like a fair or livestock exhibition,
> and spread to numerous states before the disease is detected.  These
> disease could include anthrax, brucellosis, foot-and-mouth disease,
> glanders, plague, pseudorabies, tuberculosis, and tulerima, just to
> name a few.
>
> Why did Illinois do this now?  Well, how many of you remember
> monkeypox.  When monkeypox was diagnosed in Illinois and several
> other Midwestern states, it was a foreign animal disease, and highly
> contagious.  Because there were no permit or any other type of entry
> requirements for these types of animals, tracing the disease and
> preventing its spread was extremely difficult.  The general public
> was up in arms because it happened and wanted something done to
> prevent future occurrences. So, now we have permits, and the general
> public is up in arms because it s "infringing on their privacy".  You
> can't have it both ways.
>
> Please remember that this only applies to animals entering Illinois.
> If you live in Illinois and are traveling out of the state, as long
> as you return to Illinois within 30 days, you are not required to
> obtain a permit to return home.  If the animal is out of the state
> more than 30 days, you will be required to get an entry permit.  If
> an animal is gone more than 30 days, it is considered a "native" of
> whatever state is it temporarily residing in. Plus, since a health
> certificate is only good for 30 days, it would not be able to return
> home on the Illinois health certificate that had been previously
> issued.
>
> So you decide.  Is a simple phone call an infringement on your
> personal liberties, or would you rather live through another outbreak
> of the black plague that killed so many during the Middle Ages and
> have it spread throughout the country because no one can trace where
> it came from or where it was going?
>
> I'm off my soapbox.  And, if you want to know my credentials, call the
> number for the permit, and then start asking questions on
> horses....you will be transferred to me.  I drafted the language for
> the Department and support it 100%.
>
> By the way, this also applies to cattle, swine, sheep, goats, bison,
> deer,elk, poultry, llamas and alpacas.
>
> Kathy Firch
> Administrative Assistant
> Bureau of Animal Health
> Illinois Department of Agriculture