APHIS FACTSHEET

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United States

Department of

Agriculture

Animal and

Plant Health

Inspection

Service

July 1998

Veterinary Services

Voluntary Scrapie

Flock Certification

Program

History

Since 1952, the U.S. Department of Agriculture

(USDA) and the sheep industry have made numerous attempts to eradicate scrapie through various

programs. The purpose of all previous USDA programs was to identify scrapie and eradicate it. That

approach changed with the implementation of the

Voluntary Scrapie Flock Certification Program on

October 1, 1992.

This program is a voluntary, cooperative effort

among producers, allied industry representatives,

accredited veterinarians, State animal health officials,

and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service (APHIS). The program provides participating

producers with the opportunity to protect their sheep

from scrapie and to enhance the marketability of their

animals through certifying their origin in scrapie-free

flocks. In addition, APHIS regulations restrict the

interstate movement of sheep from scrapie-infected

and source flocks.

The program was modified in October 1997 to

make it more practical for producers. This factsheet

describes the new Voluntary Scrapie Flock Certification Program.

Program Purpose and Benefits

The intent of the program is to monitor flocks

over a period of 5 years or more to identify flocks that

are free of scrapie. Because there is no validated

live-animal test for this disease and scrapie has a

long incubation period, a flock is considered free of

the disease if no sheep have been diagnosed with

scrapie and there is no clinical evidence of it over a

period of time. The longer a flock is enrolled and

following the requirements of the program, the more

likely the sheep in the flock are free of scrapie.

The economic value of animals in enrolled flocks

increases the longer they are in the program, especially once the flock is certified. Animals from certified flocks are a valuable source for replacement of

breeding animals in other flocks.

The program receives producer input at the

national and State levels through the National

Oversight Committee and the State Certification

Board. These groups include producers, accredited

veterinarians, allied industry representatives, State

animal health officials, and APHIS officials.

Sign Up!

All flock owners may apply to enter the Voluntary

Scrapie Flock Certification Program by contacting the

APHIS Veterinary Services office for their area. The

State Certification Board reviews applications and

approves or disapproves admission to the program.

The application package includes

• A list of animals in the flock, including breed,

gender, and official program identification (tattoo,

microchip, or APHIS-approved, tamper-resistant ear

tag);

• A statement by the flock’s accredited veterinarian

declaring the flock free of scrapie; and

• An inspection report authorized by a State or

Federal regulatory official verifying official identification and other application information.

Program Requirements

When participating in the program, flock owners

must:

• Agree to immediately report scrapie-suspect

animals to the proper animal health official.

• Officially identify all animals within a flock that are

1 year of age or older. Animals less than 1 year old

must be identified whenever a change of ownership

occurs, except for those in slaughter channels.

• Maintain required records as specified by the

program. Owners must account for all acquisitions,

departures, births, and deaths. Records must be

retained for a minimum of 5 years after an animal

dies or is removed from the flock.
• Allow breed associations and registries, livestock

markets, and packers to disclose records to APHIS

and/or State animal health officials and State Scrapie

Certification Board members.

• Provide necessary facilities and personnel to assist

in inspections, including:

—checking animals for official identification and

signs of scrapie, and

—checking records for completeness and

accuracy.

• Submit to an official laboratory tissues from

scrapie-suspect animals and from animals suspected

of having other neurologic or chronic, debilitating

illnesses.

• Report to the State Certification Board acquisitions

of sheep from flocks with lower status or from flocks

not participating in the program.

Program Categories

Complete Monitored Category

This category means that a flock is approved to

participate in the program. Flocks in this category

have either enrolled or certified status.

Complete Monitored Enrolled Flock—When a

flock enters the program, it is assigned enrolled

status, becoming a “complete monitored enrolled

flock.” These flocks are assigned an enrollment date

(the date the State Certification Board approves

admission to the program) and a status date. The

status date is the best risk indicator for scrapie in an

enrolled flock. Initially, the status date is the same as

the enrollment date and will be maintained if a flock

continues to meet program requirements. However,

if a flock acquires animals or commingles with

animals that do not meet the program standards, the

status date changes to reflect the date of this occurrence. The older the date, the longer the flock has

been meeting program standards.

Rams may be acquired from any flock (other than

source or infected flocks), including those not

enrolled in the program. Presently, there is no

scientific evidence that supports rams as a risk for

spreading scrapie. However, producers increase the

risk that scrapie will be diagnosed in their flock when

purchasing rams from nonenrolled flocks.

Ewes have been found to spread the disease.

Therefore, to maintain scrapie-free status, flock

owners may obtain ewes only from other enrolled

flocks with an equal or older status date. Owners

acquiring ewes from flocks not participating in the

program or from flocks of lower scrapie status will

have their flock’s status date adjusted to reflect the

addition of the lowest category animal.

Complete Monitored Certified Flock—When an

enrolled flock has met program standards for

5 consecutive years, it advances to certified status.

Sheep from these flocks are unlikely to be infected

with scrapie. Flocks in this status may be augmented

with rams from other certified flocks or enrolled

flocks. However, APHIS recommends that producers

consider the risk of scrapie infection when purchasing

rams from lesser status flocks. Ewes may be purchased only from other certified flocks.

Both enrolled and certified flocks are inspected

annually by State or Federal regulatory personnel.

Flocks of both statuses also may loan out rams for

breeding without jeopardizing their status date. The

ram must reside in the program flock other than for

breeding purposes and cannot be with ewes 30 days

prior to and 60 days following lambing.

Selective Monitored Category

Selective Monitored Category is open to any flock

and was designed for slaughter lamb producers to

allow for scrapie surveillance in large production

flocks. Only male animals over 1 year of age must

be officially identified. Producers agree to submit for

scrapie diagnosis animals that are culled from the

flock or that die. (The number of animals to submit

per year depends on the flock size.) Additionally, an

accredited veterinarian must inspect all cull ewes for

clinical signs of scrapie prior to slaughter. Selective

status is maintained indefinitely, as long as the flock

meets the category requirements.

Epidemiologic Investigations

If scrapie is diagnosed in a flock in any program

category, animal health officials will conduct an

epidemiologic investigation. The investigation will

identify and trace back the source of the disease and

identify exposed animals. These officials will work

with the flock owner to develop and implement a flock

plan. The flock plan will include depopulation of highrisk animals, reduction of risk associated with spread

of infection, and facility cleanup and disinfection.

Exhibition and Transportation Guidelines

The program standards also give guidelines for

reducing the risk of scrapie exposure when sheep are

at shows or are being transported. Guidelines

include separating enrolled sheep from nonenrolled

sheep by a vacant pen, barn alley, or solid barrier
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color,

national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs,

sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited

bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who

require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s

TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office

of Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call

(202) 720–5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity

provider and employer.

sufficient to prevent physical contact. Limited contact

in show rings minimizes the risk of disease transmission. Enrolled sheep should not commingle with

lambing ewes at exhibits or sales.

Additional Information

For more information about the Voluntary Scrapie

Flock Certification Program, contact

USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services

National Animal Health Programs

4700 River Road, Unit 43

Riverdale, MD 20737–1231

Telephone (301) 734–6954

Fax (301) 734–7964

Current information on enrolled, certified, source,

and infected flocks is also available 24 a day hours

every day through a toll-free automated telephone

voice response service at (800) 545–USDA (8732).

To reach APHIS’ scrapie information on the World

Wide Web, point your Web browser to

http://www.aphis.usda.gov and type the word

“scrapie” (minus the quotation marks) in the search

engine.