No animal will be admitted unless it meets the requirements below. No animal is to be unloaded until the animal and its paperwork have been inspected and approved for entry. All animals must be accompanied by a valid health certificate, dated Jan. 1, 2012 or later, and signed by an accredited veterinarian certifying that the animals are clinically free of infectious or contagious disease and exposure from such disease. Certificates must be on veterinarian’s letterhead stationery, which clearly identifies contact information for the veterinarian signing the certification. Certificates written on plain paper are not acceptable.

General Rules: All livestock must have proper ID and must be in proper physical condition, be properly identified and free of visual evidence of infectious, contagious or parasitic disease at time of arrival. Specific diseases and conditions that will disqualify an animal for entry are identified for each species in the following sections of the rules. Animals of any species with open or draining wounds will not be approved for entry. Evidence of infectious, contagious or parasitic disease, or failure to produce the necessary documents for health certification, vaccination or testing will result in the animal’s rejection for entry. THE INSPECTOR’S DECISION IS FINAL.

Out-of-state animals** All animals entering a Massachusetts fairground from out of state must be accompanied by a valid health certificate, signed by an accredited veterinarian certifying that the animals are clinically free of infectious or contagious disease and exposure from such disease. Documents of health certification must be written on relevant State or Federal health forms only. These certificates must be available upon request to fair inspectors. Health certificates must be dated January 1, 2012, or later. These documents will be acceptable for the entire fair season in Massachusetts. TB and Brucellosis testing is not required for animals from TB acc. & Brucellosis-free States. All other states must call for requirements. (617-626-1795)

Cattle:* Cattle must be identified by ear tag, tattoo, registration or microchip. All cattle must be free of visual evidence of the following diseases: foot rot, mange, pink-eye, ringworm, warts, cow-pox and open or draining wounds. While not required, it is strongly recommended that all cattle be currently vaccinated for rabies.

Sheep:* All sheep must possess a USDA approved individual identification tag or tattoo based on the federal scrapie eradication program. Information is available from the USDA APHIS office in Sutton, MA or 508-865-1421. No sheep will be allowed entry from flocks in which scrapie has been diagnosed or in which animals are under surveillance for scrapie during the previous eighteen months. No sheep will be permitted entry from flocks in which soremouth has existed or in which soremouth vaccine has been administered in the previous 60 days. Sheep must be free from visual evidence of foot rot, sore mouth, pink-eye, ringworm, and open or draining wounds. While not required, it is strongly recommended that sheep be currently vaccinated against rabies.

Horses:***All Massachusetts Department of Agriculture rules and regulations for horses must be followed, as per State website (www.mass.gov/agr/animalhealth) All equines entering a Massachusetts fairground must have a valid health certificate signed by an accredited veterinarian certifying that the animals are clinically free of infectious or contagious disease and exposure from such disease. Documents of health certification for out of state animals must be written on relevant state or federal health forms only. In state animals may be accompanied by a certificate of examination on a veterinarian’s letterhead stationery which clearly identifies the contact information for the veterinarian signing the certification. Certificates written on plain paper are not acceptable. These certificates must be available upon request to fair inspectors. Health certificates must be dated January 1, 2011 or later. These documents will be acceptable for the entire fair season.

All equines must be free of visual evidence of the following diseases and conditions: mange, ringworm, soring, strangles, and open or draining wounds.

All equines originating from within and outside of the Commonwealth must have a negative USDA approved EIA test (i.e., Coggins test or ELISA test) dated within twelve (12) months of entry.

*Show management states that an in-state Coggins must be within 12 months, out of* *state 6 months. ***While not required, it is strongly recommended that all equines be vaccinated for rabies, tetanus, and EEE within one year of the fair.