INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The county fair season is complete in Indiana, and state veterinarians are breathing a sigh of relief.

On top of their normally full schedules, vets have to provide 4-H livestock with a certificate of veterinary inspection (CVI) stating they are free of disease and ready to go to the fair.

One veterinarian described what a visit to a 4-Her’s farm could be like. Sometimes a single large-animal vet may cover an entire county and more, so criss-crossing the countryside to get to all the 4-Hers takes a good chunk of time. It may require multiple trips in the event a parent is not home and climbing fences to get to a particular animal before the exam even starts.

Then there’s the paperwork that must be filled out for the fair entry and for filing with the state.

But the Indiana State Board of Animal Health feels it is time to streamline the requirements for exhibition. At their recent quarterly meeting, the board approved changes for the 2007 exhibition season.

The BOAH will no longer require a CVI for exhibition by in-state animals at in-state events.

The CVI will continue to be required for out-of-state animals.

The decision was based on the state’s “free” status for tuberculosis, brucellosis and pseudorabies, along with the progress on the state’s premises identification system, which will be implemented in 2007.

“We feel that the current premise identification project, which we are working diligently on right now, will help fill one of the primary purposes of CVIs in the past, and that is providing a paper trail that we can trace afterward, should we have an animal health event,” said Denise Derrer, public information director of the BOAH.

The premise ID program includes registration of farms and exhibition sites, and exhibition organizers will be required to keep records of animals in the event.

However, the rule states that exhibition organizers may continue to require CVIs on show animals, as well as other requirements.

Many open shows have additional requirements, Derrer said, particularly in horse exhibitions.

Exhibition officials may add requirements, such as having a veterinarian present at check-in of livestock to examine animals showing any disease symptoms, as long as the requirements do not conflict with a BOAH requirement.

Dr. John Baker, swine industry representative on the BOAH, proposed the new rule. After a three-month public comment period, Derrer said the majority of comments were in favor of eliminating the CVIs.

The change will be welcome, said Dr. Emily Williamson, a veterinarian serving Johnson and Morgan counties. But she feels that a vet should be present at check-in of exhibition animals to ward off any problems.

“At horse exhibitions, just collecting $1 per person to take care of a vet is better than all the running and paperwork,” Williamson said.

The rule also recognizes electronic filing of CVIs – now provided by Global Vet Link - greatly streamlining the process for veterinarians.