[Sca-cooks] Call day for preventing NAIS's excessive control of people and livestock

[Sharon Gordon]

Anti-NAIS Call Day---Monday, January 23---sponsored by the Piedmont Dairy
Goat Association NAIS Committee.

Call your Senators and Representatives in Washington on this day!  Even if
you have called them before, call them again.  We need to flood them with
calls!  If they aren't in, SOMEBODY will be and can document the call.

Our group here in NC has prepared the following list of facts and
information that you are welcome to use if you wish.  If you need more
information, feel free to post.

This is a long post, but please forward to others you know who would be
willing to participate.  I am sending it to the following lists : GoatID,
RawDairy, ArtisanCheesemakers, ADGA Dist. 3, OberhasliTalk, and AlpineTalk.
Please send to OTHERS not these so we don't flood our own lists with this
long post.

Blessings to us all!
Cynthia Sharpe
OakMoon Farm


National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Fact Sheet

1) USDA proposes surveillance of every property where even a single animal
of any livestock species is kept; and to require, at a minimum, the
radio-frequency tagging of every animal through the National Animal
Identification System, or NAIS. (Standards, pp.3-4, 6, 17-18)

2) NAIS proposes forced registration in a huge, permanent federal database
of individual citizen's real property (the homes and farms where animals are
kept) and personal property (the animals themselves). (Standards, pp.8-13;
Plan, pp. 8, 12-13.)

3) NAIS proposes that an animal owner will have to report, within 24 hours,
any missing animal, any missing tag, the sale of an animal, the death of an
animal, the slaughter of an animal, the purchase of an animal, the movement
of an animal off the farm or homestead, the movement of an animal onto the
farm or homestead. (Standards, pp. 13, 18-19, 21)

4) NAIS proposes that animal owners will have to pay the costs of
registration and surveillance of their homes, farms, and livestock.
("[T]here will be costs to producers," Plan, p. 11; "private funding will be
required...Producers will identify their animals and provide necessary
records to the databases... All groups will need to provide labor...", Plan,
p.14)

5) VIOLATIONS:  Persons in violation of the regulations once they become
manditory will first be issued warnings from NCDA (North Carolina Department
of Agriculture) to register their farm for the program.  Persons who do not
register after receiving a warning will be in violation and subject to
penalties as provided by the NAIS standards as adopted by NC, and are
expected to be $1000 per day.

6) Currently the USDAâ?Ts National Animal Identification Plan (NAIS) is
voluntary. The plan is slated to become mandatory by January 2008.



WHAT YOU CAN DO

Read the Draft Standards Plan and Draft Strategic Plan
http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/index.shtml

Contact your Representative
http://www.house.gov/writerep

Contact your Senators
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=NC

Contact your State Veterinarian

Sign a petition regarding NAIS


Compiled from http://www.usda.gov/nais click on Draft Standards Plan and
Draft Strategic Plan on right side of the page.





National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Fact Sheet
The National Animal Identification System is being put into place â?zto
enable 48 hour traceback of the movements of any diseased or exposed animal.
The NAIS consists of three components:

Premises registration
Animal identification
Animal tracking

Those putting this into place do not consider you the owner of your animals.
Their approach to this is â?zWe must ensure the participation requirements
of the NAIS not only provide the results necessary to maintain the health of
the national herd.
The government is already encouraging voluntary registration on the radio.
â?zThe USDA will enact regulations by early 2008, requiring stakeholders to
identify their premises and animals. At that time, all animals leaving their
current premises must be identified with the AIN or Group/Lot ID.
â?z Even with public funding, there will be costs to producers. Both public
and private funding will be required for the NAIS to become fully
operational. The Federal government is providing the standards, national
databases, and basic infrastructure.

States and Tribes will register premises within their areas. They will also
support the administration of animal identification and tracking systems
that will feed information into the national database. Producers will
identify their animals and provide necessary records to the databases.
Managers of shows and events will report a record of participating animals.
Market operators and processing plants will provide animal location records.
Service providers and third parties will assist by providing animal
identification and movement records to the NAIS on behalf of their producer
clients. All groups will need to provide labour.

The Timetable
2005:
Premises registration: July 2005: All States operational
� Animal identification: August 2005: Initiate â?z840 number with AIN tag
manufacturers and AIN tag managers
� Animal tracking: January-December 2005: Test identification and
automated data collection technologies
2006:
� Premises Registration: April 2006: Performance measure: 25% of all
premises registered
� Animal identification: April 2006: AIN Management System fully
operational
� Animal tracking:
- July 2006: Interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (ICVI)
operational in all States
- Focus on integration of management systems to forward animal
locations/sightings
2007
� Premises registration: April 2007: Premises registration â?zalert
(scaled up communication campaign to create awareness of January 2008
requirements for premises registration).
� Animal identification: April 2007: Animal identification alert (scaled
up communication campaign to create awareness of January 2008 requirements
for animal identification).
� Animal tracking:
- April 2007: Incentives to report interstate movements using ICVI or
electronic movement permit system.
- October 2007: Infrastructure established to collect animal termination
records at high capacity abattoirs.
- Initiate collection of animal movements at concentration points (markets,
feedlots, etc.).
- Expand the integration of management systems to forward animal
locations/sightings.
NAIS Strategic Plan - DRAFT Lines of Action
2008:
� Premises registration: January 2008: All premises registered with
enforcement (regardless of livestock movements).
� Animal Identification: January 2008: Animal identification required with
enforcement.
� Animal tracking:
- July 2008: Collect high percentage of animal termination records at
abattoirs (processing plants).
- July 2008: Collection and reporting all defined movements.
2009:
- January 2009: Enforcement for the reporting of animal movements.
- NAIS fully implemented and all components are mandatory.
Compiled from http://www.usda.gov/nais click on Draft Strategic Plan on
right side of the page.


Cynthia Sharpe
OakMoon Farm
North Carolina