Can you...

[tnokie]

Can you buy cattle say in Tennessee and take them to say Oklahoma? What all would you have to do to be legal about it. What would be the conciquences if you just loaded them up and moved them without any paper work? Does anyone(law enforcement look for and stop vehicles that are hauling cattle on the interstate highways?

[haypoint]

Oklahoma has requirements for importation of animals. Because of known disease problems, some states ban importation from some other states. It changes regularly.
Likely you'd need "Interstate Health Certificate" fro a Vet in the state the cow is in.

In Michigan, State Police do stop livestock vehicles and check paperwork.

Call your Ag Department and ask them what they require. It is good piece of mind, knowing your purchase is healthy.

[G. Seddon]

As Haypoint says, call your Dept of Agriculture (State Vet's Office) and ask what the requirements are:

http://www.oda.state.ok.us/ais/oair.pdf

Most likely you'll need a CVI (Certificate of Veterinary Inspection) which is usually good for 30 days. You may need to test the cattle for TB, brucellosis, or other things. But call and ask, write down what's required, and then contact your veterinarian.

[Jay]

Worse comes to worse, if they stop you is:
1) Slap your hand, waste some of your time and let you go
2) They have the power to quarentine(sp) and test the animals (at your expense)
3) Destroy them--again at your expense, and you are not compensated for your loss.

Getting the proper paperwork helps prove they are your cattle (not stolen) and you are following the rules.

Everyone who just loads them up and hauls them where ever makes things harder for everyone else. More "rules" are put in place and more checks are done.

Nebraska had a small TB outbreak a year or two ago, someone hauled cattle in from the east. Lots of counties/property lines were quarentined for xx amount of days plus testing by the state vet. Not sure who footed the bill on that one. Glad it wasn't me!

[Alice In TX/MO]

I move my dairy goat herd between Texas and Missouri (via Arkansas) in the spring and fall. I am required to have a Health Certificate to move across state borders. In the ten years that I've been doing this, I've seen the check station on the Texas side of the border manned exactly ONCE.

Although I had my certificate, it was more than 30 days old, and they gave me a "warning" citation, and I had to get the herd inspected within 24 hours of arrival at my destination.

The whole shebang is a hoax and a sham. What they CLAIM to be preventing (Scrapie) isn't even a valid goat disease, it takes six months to develop in sheep, and an inspection today means NOTHING. Government control, paperwork, and tax money.

OK, off my soap box now.