Committee on Livestock Identification

It appears as though the USDA is not taking kindly to the States saying No to NAIS. They had a conference in October with all the biggest names and made a ruling to adopt an interim rule which will exclude any state that does not go along with NAIS, they will be isolated. I am sending a copy of the notification for immediate release from an attorney I work with in NY.

The following document is the Report of the Committee on Livestock Identification of the U.S. Animal Health Association, from a meeting on October 17, 2006. Present at the meeting were USDA Undersecretary Bruce Knight, Dr. John Clifford, Dr. John Wiemers, and Neil Hammerschmidt.

On p. 14 of this document we have a hint about a very dangerous game that the USDA may be intending to play with our way of life and our ability to keep livestock. The last paragraph on page 14 describes a recommendation that this Committee of the USAHA has made to the USDA. The Committee has recommended that, prior to July 1, 2007, the USDA should promulgate an "interim rule" that would prohibit interstate movement of cattle from any state that fails to REQUIRE THAT ALL BREEDING AGE CATTLE BE OFFICIALLY IDENTIFIED at each change of ownership. Such an "interim rule" would make it impossible for any state to resist, because it would become economically isolated. Also note that an "interim rule" can be promulgated WITH NO PRIOR OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

Is the USDA planning to follow this Committee recommendation and force NAIS upon the entire nation by means of a dictatorial "interim rule"? It is bad enough that the USDA has been killing off American agriculture for decades; don't let them kill off democracy.

Please send a copy of this message to your U.S. Congressman and your two U.S. Senators. This scheme must be stopped in its tracks.

Here is a page on the US Animal Health Association that lists all the members and their contact information. If good folks would contact them and explain why they are against the NAIS, especially small scale back-to-traditional animal owners (as opposed to large lot/ranchers/breeders), maybe they'd understand that their ideas for our nation are not favored by freedom-loving people. I think a lot of these decisions are made in the vacuum of the ivory tower world many of these veterinarians live in. They are so focused on the idea of stopping an animal disease they forget the civil liberty implications and think all opposition is form whackos who don't understand the "good" they're trying to do.

Also on the page, check out the list of government agencies that are members of the USAHA! Bureaucrats all! Their focus is purely disease prevention. They need representation for civil libertarians, too.

http://nonais.org/index.php/2007/01/22/bad-premonition/

Bad Premonition
Commentary — walterj 7:32 pm

From Lawyer Zanoni:

The following document is the Report of the Committee on Livestock Identification of the U.S. Animal Health Association, from a meeting on October 17, 2006. Present at the meeting were USDA Undersecretary Bruce Knight, Dr. John Clifford, Dr. John Wiemers, and Neil Hammerschmidt.

On p. 14 of this document we have a hint about a very dangerous game that the USDA may be intending to play with our way of life and our ability to keep livestock. The last paragraph on page 14 describes a recommendation that this Committee of the USAHA has made to the USDA:

Two recommendations were considered by the Committee. The following recommendation was approved by the Committee.

That USDA-APHIS-VS with input from the National Assembly of State Animal Health Officials (NASAHO), promulgate an interim rule that establishes a list of Consistent States for Cattle Identification. The rule would provide for restriction of interstate movements other than direct to slaughter from non-consistent states. The rule would specify that consistent states have established by law, rule, order, or other means requirements that all breeding age cattle be officially identified by means of official tag or registration brand or tattoo at each change of ownership, other than movements direct to slaughter, or movements through one approved market and then direct to slaughter. Further, that consistent states have import requirements that all such cattle be officially identified prior to import or at first point of concentration. Consistent states may grant waivers for such requirements for interstate movements which are part of normal operating business with no change of ownership and for seasonal grazing/feeding as agreed to by the state and federal animal health officials of the states involved. Further, that this interim rule be promulgated prior to July 1, 2007. In addition, the Committee recommends that a follow-up rule be promulgated prior to July 1, 2008, that establishes consistent states as those that have in place similar requirements for breeding aged cattle upon change of ownership for feeding or grazing.
-Report Of The Committee On Livestock Identification

The Committee has recommended that, prior to July 1, 2007, the USDA should promulgate an “interim rule” that would prohibit interstate movement of cattle from any state that fails to REQUIRE THAT ALL BREEDING AGE CATTLE BE OFFICIALLY IDENTIFIED at each change of ownership. Such an “interim rule” would make it impossible for any state to resist, because it would become economically isolated. Also note that an “interim rule” can be promulgated WITH NO PRIOR OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

Is the USDA planning to follow this Committee recommendation and force NAIS upon the entire nation by means of a dictatorial “interim rule”? It is bad enough that the USDA has been killing off American agriculture for decades; don’t let them kill off democracy.

Please send a copy of this message to your U.S. Congressman and your two U.S. Senators. This scheme must be stopped in its tracks.

Mary Zanoni

[I have not finished reading this document myself… -WJ]

Hat tips to Mary & Gisela

Calpernia. thought you may want to see this ,I just received it

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070124/NEWS/701240381

Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Brewer, Gobi target livestock data

By Mary Jo Hill TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
mhill@telegram.com

BOSTON— A federal program to track livestock is being targeted by proposed state legislation that would keep Massachusetts from sending data to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

State Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, and state Rep. Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer, recently filed the legislation, which also requires the state Department of Agricultural Resources to withdraw any applications for funding for the National Animal Identification System.

And the state, which already has sent some information to the federal government about the location of local livestock, would have to notify owners of those animals about how they can have their information removed from the federal database, Mr. Brewer said.

The animal identification system has sparked outcry among some backyard farmers in the state, who have complained it would be costly and burdensome.

But the USDA has said the program would allow rapid tracing of animals if there is an outbreak of disease.

The first phase of NAIS is the voluntary collection of data about where livestock live, with a goal of eventually providing identification numbers to each animal and reporting each time an animal is moved from one place to another.

Mr. Brewer said he decided to file the legislation after attending many meetings last summer where small farmers spoke out about the identification system.

The program “just appeared to me to be Washington overkill,” Mr. Brewer said. He believes a pandemic would occur in a large chicken processing plant rather than a backyard farm.

“That’s where a huge plague could go like wildfire,” Mr. Brewer said.

Although Massachusetts did stop transmitting data about livestock in the state to the federal government last year after questions came up about whether the data were being kept confidential, Mr. Brewer said the proposed legislation is meant to make sure this data transmission does not start up again.

Kent A. Lage, assistant commissioner for the state Department of Agricultural Resources, said currently Massachusetts doesn’t receive federal money to collect data about livestock for NAIS. The state has been collecting these data for years for its own purposes.

Massachusetts stopped sending its data to the federal government months ago, he

said.

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