Posted on 10/25/2005 6:59:42 PM PDT by SJackson
BARABOO - Even if residents own as little as a few chickens, some horses or a pet llama, a new state law requires that animal owners register all premises where livestock are kept.
Beginning Nov. 1, people must register with the state locations where livestock are kept, said Robert Fourdraine, chief operating officer of the Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium, a nonprofit organization working with the state Department of Agriculture. This is a first step toward implementing a nationwide system of livestock identification.
A wide variety of animals are considered livestock under the law, a including: fish; cattle and bison; alpacas; deer, elk and moose; horses; captive birds such as pheasants, emu and waterfowl; poultry and sheep. Registration is required of all livestock owners, including those keeping an animal defined as livestock as a pet or for hobby purposes.
Livestock owners are asked to complete their registration by Jan. 1, Fourdraine said. Once the window for registration ends, the law establishes penalties for livestock owners who don't comply.
The registration of addresses where livestock are kept is part of an effort to control future outbreaks of animal and human illness, said Paul Dietmann, Sauk County's University of Wisconsin agriculture agent.
"If there were an outbreak of diseases, it would be a lot easier and faster to notify people if livestock have been registered," he said. "You can understand why it's important to know where all the livestock are located and to have a means to quickly notify the people if there is an outbreak."
Disease emergencies involving livestock include the severe outbreak of foot and mouth disease, an illness of animals such as cattle and sheep, in Britain a few years ago, Dietmann said. While it never arrived in the U.S., agriculture authorities had to prepare for the possibility it might.
"The county has an emergency response plan for highly contagious animal diseases," Dietmann said. "If something were to break out, or even if it were suspected, there's a process the county would go through so people who need to know are notified."
Another concern is the avian flu, he said.
Health officials have not yet reported finding the avian or bird flu strain, formally called H5N1, in the U.S., according to press reports. But it has been found in poultry and wild birds in Asia, and just recently in parts of Europe.
Health experts worry H5N1 could mutate and become a deadly flu that easily spreads from person to person. It has killed about 60 people in Asia, but the few made ill generally caught it from contact with poultry.
"Avian flu could be an even bigger concern, because there's (a threat to) humans involved," said Dietmann.
Some farmers are skeptical about the national livestock identification process, he said, because state and federal laws do not yet require animals being imported to the U.S. to be identified and tracked.
"There's a higher requirement for farmers in the United States than there is for farmers who are exporting to the United States," said Dietmann.
A thorough livestock identification program would require registration of both local premises where livestock are kept and country-of-origin labeling for imported animals, Dietmann said. However, he still believes registration of livestock premises is a good idea.
"The faster we can notify people there needs to be a quarantine or something, the better off we are," he said.
In the statement, Fourdraine notes Sauk County is one of the leading counties in Wisconsin for numbers of places where livestock are housed.
Until Oct. 31, livestock owners may register their premises at http://www.wiid.org. After Nov. 1 the appropriate web address is http://www.datcp.state.wi.us/premises.
Owners may also call (888) 808-1910 to receive a registration form. Or they can get one at Sauk County-UW-Extension, Sauk County West Square Building, 505 Broadway, downtown Baraboo. Registration also may be done through a Farm Service Agency office.
Of possible interest, even though it's not your state.
Not in WI. They pass out sell and publish their lists.
Be prepared to be taxed on these animals.
Its all about money.
Bwahahahahaha
Get the Amish here to comply...
Great. This state will probably hop right on the bandwagon.
"Okay pig, where are your papers?"
Excellent. Thanks.
In Iowa we pay Property Taxes on our animals.
Exactly. I was going to post something like "beaurocrat's full employment and prosperity act" but I like yours better. Simple and to the point.
Have heard of the PAWS (Pet Animal Welfare Statute) 2005 that is being introduced in the US Senate as Bill 1139 and the US House of Representatives as Bill 2669. If these Bills gain passage they will have an affect on all hobby breeders, dog rescue groups and all imports of dogs. This legislation would require all breeding stock and puppies to be raised in commercial USDA Licensed kennels and sold through USDA Licensed retail businesses. This legislation will make it nearly impossible for the breed enthusiast to continue to breed, raise and sell dogs from their home. I urge each of you to take a serious look at this proposed legislation and contact your Senators and Congressional Representatives, as soon as possible, to let them know how you feel about these bills.
Wonder will "livestock" get personal ID numbers and will "undocumented liveries" be ignored as much as "undocumented aliens"?
Gee, I wonder how many people in Wisconsin have a goldfish bowl or a fish tank? I wonder if they are ready for the rush of registrations that little item will generate.
Conservative government growing itself - again.
It's for the children.
"It has been replaced with a twilight zone."
You sure said it. I can see Rod Serling with a cigarette:
"This is farmer brown, a Wisconsin
pig farmer with an innocent habit called
forgetfulness. But Farmer Brown is
about to sleep for fifty years...And when
he awakens, he will find everything in his
house and on his property numbered and
something as simple as lighting a cigarette
in a public place may place him in
violatation of some obscure law.
You see, Farmer Brown has just entered a
new way of life of what will someday be
described quite recklessly as "freedom," but
as he will no doubt find it's a freedom
only found...in the Twilight Zone."
How on earth can the government control something like your dog getting pregnant? Honestly, no humans have ever been able to control nature like this. The only result of this will be to create criminals out of innocent citizens. And huge packs of unwanted dogs. Not everybody can afford the spay and neuter of their pets. So they'll abandon them...talk about the law of unintended consequences.
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