WASHINGTON — Two additional public meetings on the animal disease traceability framework approach will be held by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (A.P.H.I.S.). The meetings will take place in June in Salt Lake City, Utah, and next month in Fort Worth, Texas. Additional meetings will be scheduled in the coming weeks.

In May, U.S.D.A. hosted three public meetings to discuss Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's new framework for animal disease traceability. Meetings were held May 11 in Kansas City, Mo.; May 13 in Riverdale, Md.; and May 17 in Denver, Colo. Approximately 60 people attended each meeting. For more information on these as well as future meetings, visit www.aphis.usda.gov/traceability/meetings/index.shtml.


These meetings are being scheduled to discuss animal disease traceability with livestock industry representatives and members of the public to gather feedback on appropriate approaches under the new framework.

The public meetings will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time, with registration starting one hour before each meeting. The meetings will be held June 24 in Salt Lake City, Utah and July 1 in Ft. Worth, Texas.