Animal Health - State Veterinarian's Office

Certain animal diseases must be reported to the proper authorities. These are known as "Reportable Animal Diseases" (RADS).  See full RADS information.

Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, lab technicians, wildlife biologists, and animal owners must report if a clinical or laboratory diagnosis shows that a disease is present. You should also report based on a reasonable suspicion.

It’s a crime, punishable in a court of law, to willfully introduce one of these animal diseases or fail to notify officials of a disease once you’ve observed it.

Reporting helps to identify outbreaks and prevent human transmission in cases of zoonotic disease.  All reports are confidential and not open to inspection by the public.

Biosecurity is the practice of preventing the spread of harmful organisms, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, that can cause disease. It's important to protect animals, people, property, and the environment from these organisms.

To learn more about biosecurity please visit our Biosecurity page

Animal Disease Traceability is a Federal-State-Industry partnership designed to help livestock producers respond to, and minimize the impact of, an animal disease outbreak. When a disease outbreak occurs, animal health officials need to know:

• Which animals are involved in a disease outbreak
• Where the infected animal are currently located
• What other animals might have been exposed to the disease.

By participating in Animal Disease Traceability, you will join a national disease response network built to protect your animals, your neighbors, and your economic livelihood against the devastation of a foreign animal disease outbreak.

Take the first step - Register your premises today! 

For more information visit the USDA Animal Disease Traceability Website.

Any person owning livestock can register a brand by applying to the Commissioner of Agriculture for a certificate of registration. Brand registration is not required in the state of Georgia; however the fact that livestock is branded with a registered mark is prima-facie evidence that such livestock belongs to the person to whom the registration is issued. To register, fill out our online Application for Brand form.

Livestock brands are reviewed and purged on a 5-year cycle. Everyone with registered brands must renew their information every year ending in 4 and 9 (e.g., 2024, 2029, etc.).

Important: we mail a reminder to all brand registrants when it is time to renew. If you do not respond within the given deadline, your brand registration may be canceled, and the certificate of brand registration may be reassigned to another person.

Make sure to keep your contact information current with the Georgia Department of Agriculture. If you miss this critical 5-year communication and forget to renew, your registration may be canceled.

Georgia state law governing brand registration can be found in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated at Title 4, Chapter 2, Marks and Brands O.C.G.A §§ 4-2-1 — 4-2-5.