Page 92 - Spring2009

NAIS Update

PROTECTING YOUR RIGHT TO FARM:
THE FIGHT OVER THE NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM CONTINUES
By Judith McGeary

Both the proponents and the opponents to equine infectious anemia. Under this memo,
of the National Animal Identification System people who refused to have their farms registered
(NAIS) have started the year with a rush. As would be registered against their will and given
proposed by USDA in 2005, the NAIS would a special code to indicate their refusal. Animal
require anyone who owns even one livestock owners who took government-required steps,
animal to register their property, tag each animal such as testing and vaccinating their animals,
(in most cases using electronic forms of ID), and would find themselves enrolled in the NAIS
report movements to the government, including premises registration database with or without
private sales, regional shows, and the death of their consent.
the animal. In 2006, in response to the public After the memo was publicized by the Farm
outcry, the USDA stated that the program would and Ranch Freedom Alliance and Liberty Ark
be voluntary “at the federal level,” and that im- Coalition, the USDA received numerous protests.
plementation would be done by the states. Since It then issued another memo. On the first page,
then, both implementation and the efforts to stop the December memo states that it revokes the
implementation have resulted in a patchwork of September memo, leading to some reports that
events at the federal and state levels. the USDA had cancelled mandatory premises
registration. But on page 4 of the memo, the
USDA ISSUES MEMOS AND USDA included language which still provided
Judith McGeary PROPOSES FEDERALRULETO that anyone who had an activity performed on
is an attorney and MANDATE PREMISES REGISTRATION their property under a federal disease control
small farmer in
Austin, Texas, and the The USDA’s interpretation of “voluntary” program would be assigned a NAIS premises
Executive Director of has been misleading, to say the least. The agency identification number. The memo was much more
the Farm and Ranch has repeatedly encouraged state efforts that ambiguous than the original September memo,
Freedom Alliance. either mandate NAIS or use coercive tactics to but the basic impact appeared unchanged.
She has a B.S. in force people into the program, such as by linking Presumably in response to the questions
Biology from Stanford it to 4H participation, disaster relief, or existing raised about its legal authority to take this step
University and a J.D. programs (brand registration, Coggins testing, through a memo, the USDA proposed a new
from the University of or tuberculosis tagging have been some of the NAIS rule on January 13. The draft rule would
Texas at Austin. She
and her husband run a most common). make portions of the NAIS mandatory for
small grass-based farm Last September, the USDA took another thousands of people in every state. Anyone who
with sheep, cattle, step along its path of claiming that the program participates in federal disease control programs
horses, and heritage is voluntary while simultaneously forcing people for cattle, sheep, goats or swine will have their
breed poultry. into it. The agency issued a memo to its Veteri- premises registered. The NAIS Premises Iden-
For more informa- nary Services Management Team that required tification Number (PIN) will become the only
tion about NAIS and NAIS premises registration for various disease form of premises identification acceptable for
what you can do program activities. The memo included activities USDA animal health purposes, with no opt-out
to stop it, go to
www.farmandranch- such as vaccinations, testing and applying official provision. The proposed rule would also limit
freedom.org or ear tags, for programs for every livestock species, official Animal Identification Numbers to the
call 1-512-243-9404. for diseases ranging from brucellosis to scrapie NAIS-compliant 840-numbering system, laying
90 Wise Traditions SPRING 2009