[Jacob-list] More on National ID

[Neal and Louise Grose]

House Agriculture Subcommittee Seeks Industry Input On Animal Identification System.  

          Representative Robin Hayes (R-NC), Chairman of the Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture held a hearing last week to review the development of USDA's approach of a private-based national animal identification system (NAIS).  The subcommittee heard testimony from representatives of the dairy, cattle, swine and turkey industries.  Jodi Luttropp, Coordinator of the National Farm Animal Identification and Records in Brattleboro, Vermont testified on behalf of the Holstein Association USA, Inc.  In her testimony Luttropp stated, "We welcomed United States Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns' recent announcement of a public/private partnership for national animal ID." She continued, "We believe that there is an urgent need for a national mandatory animal ID system in the United States that allows government to respond quickly and effectively to an animal health emergency.  America's farmers and ranchers are vulnerable without such a system."
            There are four guiding principles for the NAIS, according to USDA.  The system must be able to allow tracking of animals from point of origin to processing within 48 hours without unnecessary burden to producers and other stakeholders; it must be developed without unduly increasing the size and role of government; the system must be flexible enough to utilize existing technologies and incorporate new identification technologies as they are developed; and animal movement data should be maintained in a private system that can be readily accessed when necessary by state and federal animal health authorities.  "Based on the hearings and countless meetings I have had with constituents, I strongly support an industry-led, private sector-based approach and I am pleased by the Secretary's decision to utilize the resources already in place, rather than reinvent the wheel," said Chairman Hayes.

            USDA announced this week that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will hold a public meeting Wednesday, October 12, to further discuss the development of a privatized national animal identification system.  The meeting will take place in Kansas City, Missouri at the Radisson Hotel and Suites Kansas City - City Center, 1301 Wyandotte Street, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is open to stakeholders and the public.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/jacob-list/attachments/20051008/f2ea4e01/attachment.html