USDA Steamrolls Ahead with NAIS]

[Guest guest]

This is forwarded from another list. I cut off all I could.

Amazing that they can do this with all the opposition.

Don

Ina

--- [PigeonRing PML:1530] CROSS POST TO ALL LISTS! USDA Steamrolls Ahead

with NAIS

A new memo out of USDA shows they are pushing ahead with NAIS despite the public

protests and even state laws barring mandatory programs. USDA recently issued a

memo to its " Veterinary Services Management Team " that requires NAIS premises

registration for various disease program activities. (Veterinary Services

Memorandum No. 575.19, posted on our Government Documents Page at

http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/Government-documents )

The memo includes activities such as vaccinations, testing, and applying

official ear tags, for programs for every livestock species, ranging from

brucellosis to scrapies to equine infectious anemia. The memo says that people

who refuse to have their farms registered will be registered against their will.

Thus, USDA has officially abandoned the supposed " voluntary " nature of NAIS.

Now animal owners who take government-required steps such as testing and

vaccinating their animals may find themselves enrolled in the NAIS premises

registration database with or without their consent.

Take Action

The USDA's action means we have to continue and redouble our efforts to educate

state and federal legislators about the problems with NAIS, so that they put a

halt to the agencies' continued implementation. Take a few moments to call your

Congressman today! Go to http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/take-action for

information on how to contact your legislators and materials to help. We post

new flyers and materials specifically aimed at USDA's latest step soon.

It's also critical to get more state laws passed stopping NAIS. Stay tuned for

more information on bills for the 2009 legislative session!

Four states already have laws that forbid their state agencies from mandating

NAIS: Arizona, Kentucky, Missouri and Nebraska. Below is a letter from Senator

, who sponsored the Arizona bill, to the Arizona Department of

Agriculture, in response to the USDA's memo. Ask your state legislator to take

a stand like Senator !

More Information on the Memo

USDA has failed to follow any of the administrative procedures required to

create enforceable regulations when it issued this new step in NAIS. So whether

USDA can actually enforce it isn't clear. On the other hand, USDA has created

the entire NAIS program without regard to following the rules administrative

agencies must follow, so it's likely that the state agencies will automatically

follow the USDA's memo. Here are some excerpts from the memo:

USDA is requiring NAIS premises registration " as the sole and standard location

identifier " for activities relating to any disease regulated through the Code of

Federal Regulations, for emerging or re-emerging disease, and for foreign animal

diseases (page 1, Section II & III.A.1)

People who refuse to voluntarily register their properties in NAIS will be

registered against their will: " If the person responsible for the premises

chooses not to complete the form to register his/her premises, either the animal

health official or an accredited veterinarian will collect the defined data

fields. " (page 2, Section III.B.2)

The memo applies to federal animal health authorities, state animal health

authorities, and private veterinarians who are accredited for federally

regulated diseases (page 1, Section I)

Any veterinarian who is accredited for a federally regulated disease is subject

to the USDA's edict to involuntarily register his or her clients: " A PIN is

required for activities performed at a premises by a State or Federal animal

health authority or an accredited veterinarian for any disease that is regulated

through Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations. " (page 4)

The listed disease programs for which a PIN will be required include:

o Tuberculosis

o Brucellosis

o e's disease

o Pseudorabies

o Scrapie

o Chronic Wasting Disease

o Low pathogenic Avian Influenza of the H5/H7 strains

o Communicable diseases in horses, asses, ponies, mules, and zebras, which would

include equine Infectious Anemia

o Texas (splenetic) fever in cattle

o Scabies in cattle

o Exotic Newcastle disease and chlamydiosis

o Poultry health as addressed in the National Poultry Improvement Plan

o Swine Health

The activities that will result in being registered in NAIS include:

o Vaccinations

o Diagnostic tests

o Certifications (other than certificates of veterinary inspection)

o Application of official eartags or backtags (page 5)

USDA states that PIN's are not required for " participation in voluntary

programs, " but does not explain which those would be (p.6)

The full memo is posted at

http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/files/APHIS_PIN_Mandate_080922.pdf

Senator 's Letter to the Arizona Dept. of Agriculture

October 31, 2008

Mr. , Director

Arizona State Dept. of Agriculture

1688 West Street

Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Dear Director :

During the 2007 legislative session, I sponsored a bill (SB1428) that prohibits

forced participation in the National Animal ID System (NAIS) in Arizona.

Governor Napolitano signed that bill and it has been the law now for more than a

year. (See ARS 3-1207 and ARS 3-1214).

I recently received a copy of a Memorandum (attached) issued by the U.S. Dept.

of Agriculture which indicates that veterinarians who visit a property are to

" collect the defined data fields " in order to assign a PIN, " as defined in the

National Animal Identification System Program Standards. " This pin is to be the

location identifier for all Veterinary Services disease program activities and -

according to the memo - must be assigned, with or without the consent of the

property owner.

I'm sending a letter to Attorney General Terry Goddard asking him to intervene

with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture in this matter. I expect the law to be

enforced in the spirit intended when it was drafted.

I would like to know how you intend to deal with this, since we have a law in

place that prohibits forced participation in NAIS? I should tell you that I

have been contacted by various Arizona residents telling me that they are being

forced into premise registration, especially the cattlemen. I am calling on you

to do everything in your power to see that this law is respected and that animal

owners in Arizona are not compelled to " register " their property in a government

data base. Please advise me on how you plan to handle this.

I look forward to hearing from you in a timely manner.

Best regards,

Senator S.

cc: Attorney General Terry Goddard

Conclusion

We need everyone to speak out against the USDA's continued forcible

implementation of NAIS! Put flyers out at your local sales barn and feed store,

write letters to the editor of your newspaper, or host a public meeting in your

area about NAIS! The USDA is relying on secrecy and apathy to push NAIS

through, so it is up to all of us to work together to bring it out into the open

and fight it.

Go to www.farmandranchfreedom.org for more information and tools to help in

this fight.

--

Longstreet Consulting

http://www.ina.ish.vicci.us/LongstreetWebSite2.html