If you haven’t heard of the US Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Identification System (NAIS) then you should as it could impact every single horse owner in this country. The NAIS is, on the surface, a Animal Tracking or Traceability program in which all cattle, pigs, horses, sheep, chickens (go figure) and other species of livestock would be required to have an electronic identification tag embedded in their body much like the way some jurisdictions require dogs to have, or that some people opt for in case their dog runs away.
A massive government intrusion, backed by companies such as Monsanto and Digital Angel, would have greatly increased the costs of ranching or commercial aspects of livestock as well as to recreational owners of livestock, as well as created privacy issues due to reporting and data management requirements.
Grassroots efforts combined with associations such as the Farm and Ranch Freedom Association (FARFA) have fought, and continue to fight, tooth and nail to get the government to back down form this un-workable requirement.
It appears that the USDA is now re-focusing efforts on a new identification and tracking program only for animals moved interstate for commerce. Or so they say. Now before you accuse me of not trusting the government,..........I’ll just admit to it.
Horse owners should be aware of the USDA’s efforts as it certainly burdens the owners of non-food animals as well as opens a large amount of information, to be stored on computer databases, to government employees and private companies.
However, the fight for privacy and unconstitutional financial burdens is not over yet. The States may be required to develop their own traceability for intrastate travel. Already Wisconsin and Michigan have implemented unfair requirements.
On-line sources for research include:
http://www.farmandranchfreedom.org
and from the USDA at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/content/printable_version/faq_tracebility.pdf
Posts
