"Serving Texans by protecting the health of livestock, poultry and exotic livestock since 1893" The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), one of the oldest state regulatory agencies, was founded in 1893 by the legislature with a mission to combat the fever tick that plagued the Texas cattle industry. Today, the agency protects the health and enhances the marketability of all Texas livestock, exotic livestock and poultry, including: • cattle • swine • poultry • sheep & goats • equine • exotic fowl • exotic livestock (exotic bovidae, cervidae and camlids) The TAHC has legislative authority to regulate the prevention, control and/or eradication of specifi c contagious or infectious diseases in livestock and poultry. Th e TAHC staff also works to keep foreign and emerging animal diseases from becoming a major livestock and poultry health hazard. The TAHC headquarters are in Austin, Texas. Seven regional offi ces are strategically located across the state so that the TAHC staff can work closely with veterinarians, ranchers, livestock markets, slaughter plants and other livestock industry representatives. Because many of the state’s livestock and poultry health programs coincide with those required by the federal government, the TAHC staff members oft en work closely with personnel from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Veterinary Services (USDA-APHIS-VS).
