Texas animal health officials are planning to begin field testing an animal identification system that could help track diseased poultry and livestock across the country.
Texas, Oklahoma and the Osage Nation reservation in Oklahoma have received one-point-seven (m) million dollars from the federal government to begin testing the system. The goal is to help authorities find animals infected with mad cow or other diseases within 48 hours.
The Texas Animal Health Commission says the test will involve about 100 producers and about 80-thousand head of cattle. The test is set to begin in about two months and will last about a year.
