Posted on 06/26/2006 2:54:57 PM PDT by pubwvj
...at least for 2006. After hearing from a large number of citizens including farmers, homesteaders, pet owners and consumers the Vermont Senate and House Agriculture Committees have told the Vermont Agency of Agriculture to not make any rules regarding the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) or Premise ID during 2006.
Vermont House Bill 881 is the state budget and buried in it in Sec. 77b the legislature has instructed the Agency of Agriculture to back down. Furthermore, our representatives have told the Ag Dept. to focus on education for prevention of disease, to give full disclosure about its intentions, to stop the secrecy, to hold public hearings in every county and to report back to the legislature next year for further discussion. It is a time out. It is a giant step back from the original memo's stated goals and aggressive timetable and Secretary of Agriculture Steve Kerr's goal of having us all signed up by July of 2006.
This follows a trend we are seeing in many states. Even the USDA is stepping back from the original aggressive game plan of NAIS in every factory farm, feedlot and backyard by 2007 (Premise ID), 2008 (Animal ID) and 2009 (Animal Tracking).
Realize that this is a very rapid shift in course. It happened because people, like you, wrote to your representatives with your concerns. You wrote to newspapers. You hung posters. You passed out fliers. You wrote hundreds of thousands of letters to the USDA. And they noticed.
This is not the end. NAIS is not defeated. NAIS is still a threat to our privacy, to traditional farming, to livestock ownership and our basic Constitutional rights. Keep an eye on your state legislature and rule making and let me know what you see. Continue writing letters. Keep an eye out for the USDA's proposed rules coming out in July when there will be a public comment period.
We can't relax our defense of our liberties but for today, at least, I am going to go out, enjoy the warm spring weather, scratch a few pig backs, tickle a sheep under the chin, play with my kids and plant our gardens.
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