Sample Letter #3
In opposition to the National Animal Identification System
Date
(To a Senator...)
The Honorable (First Name, Last Name)
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator (Last Name):
I am writing to you to voice my opposition to the National Animal Identification System, commonly referred to as "NAIS." You may not be aware of a USDA program that is being implemented right now, without Congress passing enabling legislation. Indeed, HB 3170 and HB 1254/1256, which would authorize a national animal identification system, have been sitting in committee for over a year. But, Secretary Johanns has said that the USDA simply can't wait for Congress.
What is NAIS? This program, which is at least ten years in the making, will require:
- Every residence or farm with even one covered animal to be registered in a national database. Each place is called a "premises" and is defined with GPS coordinates and given a seven-digit number. Any place where covered animals are commingled will also be a premises: veterinary clinics, horse shows, county fairs, 4H meetings, "show and tell" days at elementary schools, auction houses, etc.
- Each individual covered animal that might leave a premises will be tagged, and registered in a government or private database, to which USDA will have access. "Covered animals" include cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, equines (horses, mules, donkeys), poultry (chickens and waterfowl), llamas, alpacas, deer, elk, and bison. The program is being implemented by the 50 states at USDA's insistence and with USDA funding, and some states have chosen to extend the list, to include pet parakeets, and other indoor animals. For most species, the proposal is to require radio frequency identification tags or microchips, rather than the less expensive, traditional forms of physical tagging.
- Each and every time a covered animal leaves a premises, or is taken to another premises, and returns, a report must be filed. Reports must reflect all the places the animal is taken to, and must be made within 24 hours.
You can find the USDA's plan, set forth in the Draft Strategic Plan ("Plan"), the Technical Standards, Draft Program Standards and Technical Supplement, released in 2005. A recent addition is the Implementation Plan, released in April 2006. The Implementation Plan is available at www.usda.gov/nais. The original 2005 documents have not, however, been withdrawn by USDA.
NAIS History. Agribusiness, specifically The National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA), lobbied the USDA to create NAIS. The NIAA is composed primarily of two groups - (1) large corporate producers and (2) the makers and producers of animal ID equipment. Between April 2002 and 2005, a task force composed of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and industry groups developed the draft plan for NAIS. While some livestock associations and organizations were also involved and support NAIS, they did not inform their members of this proposed government regulation. Many of their members are still unaware that their freedoms are being given away.
NAIS' Effect. If NAIS is allowed to move forward:
- We will be forced to pay fees to register our farms and animals. "Even with public funding, there will be costs to producers." (Plan, p. 11)
- We will be forced to report to the government database the acquisition of any animal and the application or loss of an identification device, and the death, sale, or movement of any animal in our possession.
- We will be required to report to the government database when an animal we own attends a livestock show, participates in a trail ride, is transported to another farm for stud service, or takes part in a community parade, etc.
- Our personal information collected through NAIS could be disclosed - "...the USDA cannot assure the confidentiality of all the information at the present time." (Plan, p. 15) Financial institutions are not able to keep this information confidential, so it is no surprise that USDA cannot guarantee confidentiality.
- The NAIS will violate the religious beliefs of minority faith communities by requiring them to become part of this computerized, technology-dependent system or abandon the livestock ownership necessary for their way of life. Many adherents raise their own food animals and use animals in farming and for transportation. Some, by scriptural teaching, must refuse to take the "mark" of such a numbering system.
- Our livestock would become part of the "national herd." (Plan, p. 8) and our American property rights will be destroyed.
- Not only would small farm operators be negatively affected by the NAIS, but this legislation will do serious damage to feed store owners, farm supply houses, hatcheries that sell and ship day-old poultry, businesses that sell farm equipment, build barns and fences, and other businesses frequented by farmers.
- The independent farmer and rancher will be a distant memory - something to be studied in historical parks. Many independents have stated that if NAIS goes forward, they will sell out or kill their animals.
NAIS Database Will Not Work
The NAIS database will not work for many reasons:
- The technology is flawed. The chip technology chosen is open and can be easily reprogrammed by anyone.
- The numbers of annual reports and the size of the database will dwarf any other database the federal government has. How can a government that can't track foreigners with expired visas, expect to track annual reports of movement or tagging of animals that number in the hundreds of millions?
- The costs, whether paid with tax dollars or through private enterprise, will come from the citizens of America - either in higher taxes, or increased costs of purchasing animals and animal products.
NAIS is Unnecessary.
Our food is safe. We do not need to terrify the American public into thinking it is not. We can track BSE now, and greater testing of cattle would work to find BSE, not simply track and count cases of it, as would NAIS. The Scrapies program works for sheep. When poultry must be culled, they are slaughtered in whole flocks - not individual birds. We can protect our food supply by limiting importation of animals and meat from other countries. The solution is not to import foreign food and then track the diseases that come with it. The only winners in this program are the microchip manufacturers and the agriculture departments - federal and state - who will have lifetime employment managing NAIS.
Please save the food supply of our country and preserve our rights. I urge you to stop all federal funding for NAIS and to explicitly limit USDA's authority.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Town, USA