The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently in the process of implementing the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). NAIS is designed to identify all livestock animals and poultry and track them. When the program is fully implemented, the USDA expects that NAIS will be able to identify all premises on which the animals are located and all animals that have had direct contact with a disease of concern within 48 hours of discovery. The USDA is implementing the program without explicit Congressional authority or oversight.
The State of Wyoming is currently accepting federal grants to implement the “voluntary” program, and is already using subtle tricks like an innocuous looking premise registration on the back of every brand registration form, and coercing children to register their parent’s premises in order to participate in livestock events at county fairs. In order to head off this massive, and misguided federal bureaucratic power grab, legislation will be introduced at the upcoming legislative session which directs that the State shall not establish any voluntary or mandatory animal identification system other than our long-established livestock brand program, and that will prohibit state agencies from spending any appropriated funds to that end.
While there has not been much attention given to this issue, it has huge implications for every American, not just those involved in the livestock industry. The NAIS would apply to every person who owns even one livestock animal or poultry, including horses, chickens, cows, goats, sheep, swine, turkeys, and bison. Each person would be required to: 1.) register their property with the state; 2.) identify each animal with an internationally-unique 15 digit number; and 3.) track “events” and report them to a government accessible database within 24 hours. The sole purpose of this program is to provide 48-hour traceback of all animal movements in case of disease outbreak. Additionally, the government and industry organizations have urged the program as a means to improve the export market.
While the USDA states that the program is currently voluntary at the federal level, it has been providing fund to the States, including Wyoming, to implement the program. With the encouragement of this federal funding, several states have already implemented mandatory programs. Moreover, several States have registered individuals in the program without their consent, or by using coercive measures, while claiming that the program remains voluntary.
NAIS represents a massive intrusion into people’s lives, because individuals will have to provide detailed information about their property, businesses, and their own movements to government and private databases. There is a huge burden on property rights, because the premises registration number will attach to the land forever, and your right to manage your land and animals will be restricted. It will carry high costs—registration ,tagging, and reporting all carry costs in both time and money. We will lose small farmers and ranchers, many will be unable to afford the program, or unwilling to accept the government intrusion. There will be damage to our economy, because businesses that rely on small farmers such as sales barns, supply stores, and even tourism, will be harmed. It will reduce choices and increase costs for consumers. It is a violation of many American’s religious beliefs. Most notably of all, it greatly increases government bureaucracy and is a gigantic waste of taxpayer dollars.
Even though the USDA is advocating this program, it has not performed a cost analysis of the program. Costs for similar programs in other countries are estimated to range from $37 per head to $69 per head. With over a hundred million cattle and millions of other livestock animals in the US, the NAIS will likely cost producers, businesses, and taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.
The NAIS will not provide benefits to justify those costs. The stated purpose of the NAIS is to provide 48 hour traceback to address animal disease. But the NAIS does not address the critical issues for disease prevention and control such as the specific disease, including its cause, prevention, transmission, and treatment options. The proponents of NAIS also ignore the fact that government and industry have already established systems for tracking animals like the tried and true system of livestock brands that has been in place in Wyoming since territorial days.
Contrary to claims, the NAIS will not protect against bio-terrorism. Terrorists are unlikely to target hobby animal owners and small ranchers. Microchips are vulnerable to cloning and computer viruses. The type of microchip specifically recommended for horses and cattle, the ISO microchip, is designed to be reprogrammable, so anyone can easily change the numbers. The large databases will provide an easy target for hackers. Indeed, even without intentional tampering, the large databases will be unmanageable, as has already been found in Australia.
The final stated justification for the NAIS is to improve the export market. There are better ways to reach agreement with Japan and other foreign countries, including allowing meat packers who wish to export their beef to test for Mad Cow disease. If tracing is a market benefit, let the market implement it, not a mandatory government program using our tax dollars. Any such program should be voluntary, non-coercive, allow for true competition, and paid for by the participants.
I believe that the NAIS infringes upon the property and private affairs of individuals in direct violation of our Constitutional rights, including the right to due process of law, equal protection, religious freedom, and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. I believe that the NAIS is likely to have serious, unintended consequences on everyone who owns even one animal, including small farms and ranches and thousands of private citizens who own animals for companionship, recreation, and subsistence. I believe that the NAIS could have a significant negative impact on the entire rural economy of the state and the country. If you agree that it is time to stop the implementation of NAIS in Wyoming, contact your legislators and ask them to support the legislation. If you would like to investigate further, I recommend the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, and their website at www.farmandranchfreedom.org. As always, feel free to contact me about this, or any other issue, at 307-685-8248 or sue.wallis@vcn.com.
