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Nebraska officials unveil new livestock hauling guidelines

Nebraska officials have unveiled new livestock hauling guidelines aimed at improving collaboration between law enforcement and Nebraska’s livestock industry.

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts says the goal is to help prevent situations where livestock trailers are put out of service, potentially jeopardizing the health and safety of the livestock being transported.

“For example, you can imagine if a trailer is pulled over and it’s a 90-degree day, those livestock have to get water. If it’s a winter condition, it could be a completely different situation,” Ricketts says. “So there’s certainly situations where we have to make sure we’re working together well, to protect the health of the livestock and the safety of the folks that are on the road.”

As part of the collaboration, the Nebraska State Patrol has developed a list of the most common violations found during inspections, which officials say will assist livestock haulers in ensuring their truck and trailer are in safe, working order. And in the event a truck and/or trailer has to be placed out of service, it also sets up system of best practices for how to rapidly unload and move livestock to a safe location.

Nebraska State Patrol captain Gerry Krolikowski says the guidelines will help troopers better deal with situations involving the hauling of livestock.

“It will help the local trooper know when he has a vehicle in this situation, where is the resource that we can escort that vehicle to—within a certain limit of time, certainly—where we would feel the taxpayers would understand and be reasonable,” says Krolikowski.

Mike Drinnin, president-elect of the Nebraska Cattlemen, says while this hasn’t been a big issue in the past, it is important to be proactive where animal welfare is concerned.

“By being better prepared, both haulers and the State Patrol will be able to respond in an effective manner and lessen the impact of any delay on the health of livestock under our care,” Drinnin says.

More information on the guidelines can be found here.

AUDIO: Excerpt from State Capitol news conference, hosted by Nebraska Governor Ricketts