AUSTRALIA: Australian beef producers attack livestock identification system as they see U.S. move away from mandatory rules.
Australian beef producers have hit out at the imposition of a mandatory livestock identification system, which they say erodes the sector’s competitiveness. The producers are angry that they have a mandatory system when other leading beef producers are introducing voluntary systems.
“The USA will not be implementing a mandatory cattle identification program by 2009 and USDA has dropped a six-month-old plan for contracting with a privatized central database to launch cattle identification,” said Australian Beef Association Vice Chairman Brad Bellinger.
The ABA reports that in addressing the Ranchers-Cattlemen’s Action Legal Fund, Neil Hammerschmidt, USDA’s National Animal Identification Systems coordinator, laid to rest concerns that any mandatory system will be implemented. They said that Hammerschmidt said there is no one working on the rules to implement a mandatory program.
“This buries claims made by Cattle Council of Australia that America is on track to implement a similar NLIS as Australia,” Bellinger said. “There is as strong an opposition to implement such a scheme among America’s ranchers as there is among Australian producers, yet this time the American government has taken on board their concerns and implemented them.”
Bellinger called for an end by the Cattle Council of distributing inaccurate information about NLIS in overseas countries.
“Australia is looking more isolated in its implementation of NLIS, when the world’s largest beef-consumer country has rejected any such scheme,” he added. “Financial costs like NLIS and restrictions upon our management are seriously eroding our competitive advantage in supplying an increasingly contested world beef market.”
Web posted: February 15, 2006
Category: Legislation and Regulation,Trade
In Europe:Chris Harris, Editor or
In North America: Bryan Salvage, Editorial Director