State Veterinarian’s Authority to Mandate Vaccines in Livestock

• In 2024, legislation (SB2543/HB2801) was introduced which would have limited the authority of the Tennessee State Veterinarian to mandate vaccinations in instances of disease outbreak. Due to concern from various agricultural commodity and industry groups, the legislation was sent to a summer study in the House and withdrawn in the Senate.
• Current state law provides the authority of supervision to the Commissioner of Agriculture and the State Veterinarian to all animals within or which may be in transit through the state.
• There are currently no limitations or requirements on routine vaccinations in any form of livestock in Tennessee. According to the State Veterinarian’s Office, the mandating of vaccinations is an authority which has not been exerted since the implementation of the law.
• There are efforts underway to educate Tennessee livestock producers, industry partners, and emergency management personnel on proper protocol on emergency disease response. 

1. What are your concerns, if any, with the State Veterinarian having the authority to mandate vaccines in instances of diseases of consequence (i.e. reportable and emerging foreign animal diseases).
2. Should the State Veterinarian maintain the authority to mandate vaccinations in instances of disease outbreak?

Tennessee Code Annotated § 44-2-102 grants both the Commissioner of Agriculture and the State Veterinarian with the general supervision of all animals within or which may be in transit through the state. The body of law then lays out numerous ways in which those two individuals are empowered to use this authority, powers which include quarantine, inspection, regulation of imports/exports across state lines, and ordered tests and vaccinations – all for the purpose of protecting the health of animals in Tennessee. When combined, the beef, dairy, pork, and poultry sectors in Tennessee brought in over $1.87 billion in cash receipts in 2021, meaning 41% of the production value in agriculture is tied to livestock production. Maintaining animal health is of the upmost importance to preserving and protecting livestock, farmers, markets, and consumers. In 2024, legislation was introduced which would have removed the Commissioner and State Veterinarian’s authority to mandate vaccines in livestock. The issue was passionately debated in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee before ultimately being sent to a summer study. The companion legislation was set to be heard on the Senate Floor, however after the actions of the House Committee, it was withdrawn from consideration. Members of the agriculture community voiced their concerns for this legislation, citing the potential threat of not having all options available in the event a foreign disease were to find itself within state lines. To view the letter submitted by numerous commodity organizations to the Chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, click HERE. You can also watch the debate and testimony from the State Veterinarian by visiting HERE. According to the State Veterinarian’s Office, the mandating of vaccinations is an authority which has not been exerted since the implementation of the law. This law has been upheld as a preventative measure only to be used in the event of emergency disease outbreak. In the event of an animal disease outbreak, current procedure is as follows: 

1. Quarantine of affected herds and animals in the control zone around them. (See image below for an example of infected, buffer, and control zones) 
2. Based on disease information and epidemiology (how fast is it moving, is it located to one area), ring vaccination around an infected area might be used to stop spread. 
3. Stop Movement Order Protocol – as needed and prescribed by TN Department of Agriculture and USDA officials.  

Diseases of concern include Foot and Mouth Disease, African Swine Fever, and others. The diseases are defined by their high mortality rate, lack of available treatment, and the disease’s epidemiology. The State Veterinarian does not mandate vaccinations for routine health check-ups, such as black leg in cattle. There are currently no limitations or requirements on routine vaccinations in any form of livestock in Tennessee. On the federal level, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) can order vaccinations in the event of an extraordinary emergency being declared. An extraordinary emergency must be declared before USDA can solely act on a federal level. Instead, they partner with State Departments of Agriculture to distribute and administer vaccines with indemnification, meaning most of their authority comes by permission of the state of jurisdiction. Currently, efforts are underway to educate Tennessee livestock producers, agricultural and commodity partners, and emergency personnel on movement standstill protocol in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak. Implementation of a unified response between federal, state, and industry partners to stop movement of livestock will be imperative to allow response teams to manage the outbreak and prevent spread of disease before it has an opportunity to become established in US domestic and wild animal populations. USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) offers several training webinars, videos, and exercises for producers and first responders. For more information, and to view various exercise plans by APHIS, click HERE.

Tennessee Farm Bureau
Animal Welfare (Partial) 
Livestock producers continually strive to keep their animals healthy through robust biosecurity, vaccination, and treatment programs. We support the advancement of properly researched and industry-tested animal health technologies to enable farmers to improve the care and management of their livestock and combat emerging diseases. 

American Farm Bureau
302 / Animal Health and Emergency Management Preparedness 

4. We recommend additional research for developing diagnostics and vaccines, (including mRNA, novel and emerging vaccine development) to understand the biology of organisms and determining why diseases emerge. We and the international community must give priority to other emerging infectious diseases such as African Swine Fever, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), Exotic Newcastle Disease, West Nile Virus, vesicular stomatitis, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), classic swine fever, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, pseudorabies, tuberculosis, salmonella, E. coli, scrapies, avian influenza and contagious equine metritis.
5. We oppose efforts to restrict access to any approved livestock or poultry vaccine technology, including specific and/or prescriptive label requirements for such vaccines or vaccine technologies.

307 / Livestock and Poultry Health 

10. We Support:

10.1. Legislation that would continue the ability of veterinarians to prescribe drugs and the accepted extra label usage of drugs needed for proper animal care. Adequate funding should be provided for the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank to allow for continued, free, immediate expert consultation to livestock owners and veterinarians in the event of accidental drug or toxin exposure to livestock or poultry. Veterinarian-prescribed and FDA-approved animal medication should be permitted to be stored in production facilities in properly secured enclosures;  

10.2. The continued sale of veterinary prescribed and over-the-counter animal health products and oppose further restrictions on their use, including any required on-farm reporting of drugs administered to livestock.