USDA Steamrolls Ahead with NAIS, another part of food chain under control

[Guest guest]

For those of you who do not understand NAIS, it is an Orwellian program

written in the 1990's by Big Ag and electronic chip manufacturers like

Digital Angel for the joint purposed of making billions on chips while

running small farmer and ranchers out of business, therefore giving total

control of the food supply to Big Ag. The mere act of obtaining a

premises ID gives the government cart blanche to search your home and

property at any time without warrant. It makes your animals part of the

" national herd " and reduces your position from

" owner " to " stakeholder " , which I presume means you

can bear the cost of raising and keeping them but the government holds

control. They have already used their power to exterminate sheep herds

and pig farms only to have the animals proven disease free after the

fact. The owner received NO compensation for the loss of their animals or

their livilhoods.

Below is an update from Farm and Ranch Freedom Assoc. published with

permission:

USDA issues memo mandating NAIS premises registration for all federally

regulated disease control programs.

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://farmandranchfreedo... )

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://farmandranchfreedo... 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 Karen Johnson, 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 Johnson!

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 Johne'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://farmandranchfreedo...

Senator Johnson's Letter to the Arizona Dept. of Agriculture

October 31, 2008

Mr. Donald Butler, Director

Arizona State Dept. of Agriculture

1688 West Adams Street

Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Dear Director Butler:

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 Karen S. Johnson

cc: Attorney General Terry Goddard

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.o... for more information and tools to help

in this fight.

Sincerely,

Judith McGeary

Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance

 

www.FarmAndRanchFreedom.o...

Phone: 512-243-9404

Toll-free: 866-687-6452

 

 

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