TALLAHASSEE — Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson has taken steps to make it easier for horse and livestock owners to move their animals in the event of an evacuation due to wildfires. Bronson has temporarily suspended intrastate movement requirements only for those animals being evacuated from affected areas. He has also lifted interstate requirements for animals being evacuated from the fire-affected areas in Georgia and moving into Florida. At the same time, Alabama and Georgia officials have waived their interstate movement requirements for Florida livestock being evacuated into those states.
“We need to help people get out of harm’s way as quickly as possible because these wildfires can spread quickly and we have new fires breaking out in many areas of the state each day,” Bronson said. “This temporary suspension of these requirements is critical for people who need to move out of an area quickly and want to protect their animals.”
Anyone transporting livestock during this emergency situation must continue to stop at the Florida agricultural interdiction stations. If the proper paperwork does not accompany the shipment, the transporter will be issued an ALE-5, Livestock Truck Passing Report. This movement report must accompany the livestock during transport within Florida, Georgia and Alabama until the owners return home when it is deemed safe to do so.
For a listing of facilities accepting livestock in the southeast, log on to the Division of Animal Industry web site at http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/ai/adc/adc_emerg_manag_links.shtml.