| |
NATIONAL
ANIMAL
IDENTIFICATION
SYSTEM
UPDATE
July
14,
2008
This
report
will
attempt
to
catch
the
reader
up
on
what
has
been
happening
with
NAIS
since
the
last
update.
State
Survey
The
2008
Membership
Roster
contains
the
results
of
the
state
by
state
survey
of
the
NAIS
situation
and
points
of
contact
in
each
state.
It
is
hoped
that
as
changes
occur,
the
NPGA
NAIS
Coordinator
will
be
informed
and
the
survey
data
updated.
Illinois
I
was
informed
by
an
NPGA
member
that
“the
IL
Department
of
Agriculture
has
now
decreed
that
ALL
livestock
exhibited
at
ALL
Illinois
fairs
must
have
a
premise
ID
number
on
the
entry
form
in
order
to
gain
entry
to
the
show.”
I
confirmed
with
Jim
Kunkle
(IL
Dept
of
Agriculture,
Bureau
of
Animal
Health)
that
they
are
requiring
a
premises
registration
for
exhibition
at
2008
Illinois
4-H,
FFA,
county
and
state
fairs.
Colorado
I
was
informed
by
an
NPGA
member
that
premise
ID
has
become
mandatory
for
4-H
and
FFA
members
if
they
are
showing
“market
animals”
at
the
state
fair,
but
not
mandatory
for
“breeding
animals.”
According
to
John
Heller,
Animal
ID
Coordinator
at
the
CO
Dept
of
Agriculture,
NAIS
compliance
in
CO
is
completely
voluntary;
however
he
says
that
in
the
event
of
an
“animal
health
concern”
(not
defined),
CO
law
allows
for
mandatory
compliance
with
NAIS
or
similar
system.
What
this
apparent
conflict
means
remains
unclear.
R-CALF
USA
Resolutions
The
Ranchers-Cattlemen
Action
Legal
Fund,
United
Stockgrowers
of
America
(R-CALF
USA),
in
their
spring
2008
mail-in
ballot,
approved
(by
96-98%
of
the
vote!)
several
significant
modifications
to
the
organization’s
policies
on
animal
identification:
R-CALF
USA
opposes
implementation
of
NAIS
through
coercive
or
exclusionary
tactics.
USDA-APHIS
has
claimed
that
it
intends
to
use
federal
disease
control
programs,
breed
association
registries
and
interstate
certificates
of
veterinary
inspection
(health
certificates)
to
implement
NAIS.
R-CALF
USA
opposes
any
form
of
a
NAIS
including
any
that
infringe
upon
the
sovereignty
of
the
states,
tribes
or
individuals,
or
that
would
cause
the
loss
of
inherent
freedoms.
R-CALF
USA
will
work
for
the
passage
of
legislation
that
would
prevent
any
department
of
the
U.S.
government
from
making
NAIS
premises
registration
a
prerequisite
for
participation
in
state
or
federal
programs.
R-CALF
USA
recommends
the
continuation
of
existing
federal
disease
control
programs
for
livestock.
R-CALF
USA
opposes
the
harmonization
of
these
existing
systems
with,
or
the
use
of,
these
existing
systems
to
implement
or
promote
NAIS.
R-CALF
USA
opposes
any
government
action
that
funds
or
mandates
premises
registration
and
individual
or
industry
participation
in
the
NAIS.
Lawsuit
against
USDA
On
5/15/08,
attorneys
for
the
Farm-to-Consumer
Legal
Defense
Fund
sent
a
Notice
of
Intent
to
Sue
letter
to
USDA
and
the
Michigan
Department
of
Agriculture
over
implementation
of
NAIS.
The
Notice
asks
USDA
and
MDA
to
immediately
suspend
the
funding
and
implementation
of
NAIS
and
fully
examine
whether
there
is
even
a
need
for
such
a
program.
On
7/14/08,
USDA
and
the
Michigan
Department
of
Agriculture
were
sued
in
the
U.S.
District
Court,
District
of
Columbia,
by
the
Farm-to-Consumer
Legal
Defense
Fund.
The
suit
asks
the
court
to
issue
an
injunction
to
stop
the
implementation
of
NAIS
at
either
the
state
or
federal
levels
by
any
state
or
federal
agency.
If
successful,
the
suit
would
halt
the
program
nationwide.
Another
Lawsuit
against
USDA
Mary-Louise
Zanoni,
a
New
York
journalist
who
covers
family
farm
issues
is
taking
the
government
to
court
to
require
it
to
keep
faith
with
American
farmers
by
allowing
access
to
its
premises
registration
records.
Although
USDA
maintains
that
the
premises
registration
portion
of
NAIS
is
voluntary,
many
livestock
owners
report
that,
despite
their
refusal
to
register,
they
have
been
placed
in
the
program’s
database
without
their
knowledge
or
consent.
Opening
the
lists
to
public
scrutiny
will
allow
farmers
and
animal
owners
to
ascertain
what
information
the
government
is
keeping
on
them.
Another
Back
Door
Move
by
USDA
The
House
of
Representatives
Agriculture
Appropriations
Subcommittee
has
included
pro-NAIS
provisions
in
the
Agriculture
Appropriations
bill
for
2009.
According
to
a
press
release,
the
bill
would
require
USDA
to
purchase
meat
products
for
the
School
Lunch
Program
from
livestock
premises
registered
with
NAIS
beginning
in
July
2009.
This
is
a
back
door
method
for
mandating
NAIS
through
the
power
of
the
purse
strings.
The
bill
also
provides
a
total
NAIS
funding
level
of
$14.5
million
or
about
$4.8
million
above
2008.
The
full
House
Appropriations
Committee
is
scheduled
to
hear
this
bill
on
6/26/08;
sometime
after
that,
it
will
go
to
the
full
House.
Ray
Hoyt
NAIS
Coordinator
|
|
