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NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION
SYSTEM UPDATE
January 30, 2007
New NAIS User Guide
On November 22, 2006, the USDA released its latest version
of a Draft User Guide, replacing all previously published
program documents. This is a 74-page document which can be
accessed by going to:
http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/naislibrary/userguide.shtml.
There is a place to click that will take you to the User
Guide.
Along with the much publicized User
Guide, USDA released an announcement of $14 million in funds
available for states and tribes to implement NAIS. The
announcement, some 28 pages in length, can be viewed at:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/mrpbs.fmd/VS_2007_NAIS_Announcement.pdf.
This announcement makes it very clear that the funds come
with conditions, in particular meeting participation goals.
News Article (Unknown
Origin/Date)
Although I cannot identify the source of the following, it
is an obvious new article. The actual date of the news
article is unknown, but it can be inferred from its content
that it was released sometime during the week of Nov. 26 -
Dec. 2, 2006. The important thing to remember when reading
it is that although USDA is claiming that NAIS is now and
will forever more remain a voluntary program federally,
and key word here is “federally,” they are urging states
to implement the NAIS at the state level (mandatorily, not
voluntarily) and are providing funding for such
implementation.
“National ID Is Dead
“USDA effectively and quietly knocked the National Animal
Identification System (NAIS) in the head last Wednesday. It
did so with the unheralded publication of the “NAIS User
Guide,” which replaces all former NAIS draft documents. This
document, for the first time, emphasizes NAIS as a voluntary
program rather than as a steppingstone to a mandatory one.
“In fact, at the very beginning, the guide explains, ‘USDA
is not requiring participation in the program. NAIS can help
producers protect the health and marketability of their
animals - but the choice to participate is theirs.’
“Late last month at a community outreach event in Kansas
City, Chuck Conner, USDA Deputy Secretary, and Bruce Knight,
USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs,
paved the way for the agency’s backpedaling. ‘Since we’ve
had some confusion on this, we need to be as clear as we can
be. This is voluntary with a capital V. Not a currently
voluntary, then maybe a mandatory system. This is a
permanently voluntary system at the federal level,” Conner
said.
“ ‘We’re making it crystal clear that NAIS is voluntary - no
ifs, ands or buts,’ explained Knight. ‘Farmers can choose to
register their premises. They can choose to participate in
individual animal or group identification. And they can opt
to be part of tracking. Or not.’˝
Opt Out Procedure for Premises
Registration
An article dated January 29, 2007 by Henry Lamb appeared in
The Eco-logic Powerhouse, the publication of the
Environmental Conservation Organization. Among other things,
the author writes that USDA has decided to provide an “opt
out” procedure for people whose premises have been
registered in the National Animal Identification System. He
also describes the proceedings of the October 16, 2006
meeting of the United States Animal Health Association’s
Livestock Identification Committee.
Lamb’s article can be found at:
http://freedom.org/news/200701/29/lamb.phtml
The Report of USAHA’s Livestock ID Committee (15 pages) can
be found at:
http://www.usaha.org/committees/reports/2006/report-id-2006.pdf
State NAIS Coordinators can be found at:
http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/contact_us/directories.shtml
Ray Hoyt
NPGA President
NAIS Coordinator
NPGA HER Committee Member
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