The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is the lead agency for farmed animal health as authorized by the Animal Health Protection Act of 2003. The AVMA urges the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Interior, and other appropriate agencies to acknowledge the lead role of the USDA APHIS in matters of farmed animal health and coordinate more effectively with the USDA APHIS, in a timely manner, to establish, develop and refine a high-level, centralized, authoritative and accountable coordinating mechanism or focal point for engaging and enhancing partnerships and resources among local, state, and federal agencies and the private sector.