The National Animal Identification System, planned by USDA for many years, is now the most serious issue in history for all livestock owners. The allegedly voluntary procedures require cattle, horses, rodeo stock, and all animals to have an identification number placed in the ear, or a computer chip injected under the skin.

The USDA has been presenting this massive undertaking at special listening sessions in every county in the USA. The USDA has sent out millions of press releases touting NAIS to every publication that will print their spin. Livestock producers are being encouraged to surrender their ranches, fair grounds, auctions, arenas, farms, and even back yard 4-H projects, or face hefty fines in some states for non compliance.

The USDA website is www.animalid.aphis.usda.gov
Although many animal owners refuse to believe the outlandish demands exacted by the USDA, everyone is urged to read from the actual site to understand the truly atrocious requirements. The federal government has spent over 120 million dollars trying to sell a 100 percent animal numbering system to be computer accessed by them. They want to immediately locate and or quarantine as many livestock as they choose to destroy if found to be exposed to a number of known, unknown or suspected diseases. Complicated ... yes it is.

In fact USDA Secreatary of Agriculture, Johanns himself admitted to the burden and cost, “nothing this big (NAIS) had been undertaken anywhere in the world ... ” All agree on the magnitude ... nor has it ever been necessary anywhere in the world.

For consideration of costs, a Kansas State University spreadsheet projected $3.43 per head with a herd size of 1250 for one tag, one year. To amortize the costs to fit average sized herds the cost would be $13.22 each for 125 head, $24.10 each for 62 head, $70.89 each for 20 head and $138.88 each for a ten head herd. This projection does not include the costs of recording movements to rodeo or show events which is to be mandatory. The USDA has refused to project costs in their data.

If several thousand animals were gathered for a major rodeo or state fair and then separated to other fairs, sales, shows, feed lots, zoos, etc. The “commingling coefficient” will be mind-boggling. With the NAIS surveillance plan these groups could suspect one diseased animal and it would not only require the quarantine of the original herd, but every animal recently commingled and associated with a commingling event multiplied by the numbers that were commingled.

With a few shows, rodeos and fairs millions of horses, cattle, and exhibit quality stock could all be under the same government choke-hold. This is all part of the NAIS protocol of enforcement. Registered cattle producers, will be forced to record all cattle movements by computer even for a single roping on a single day. Many believe this new burden of bureaucracy will totally eliminate the smaller livestock shows, rodeos, fairs, livestock auctions, and even FFA or 4-H events.

NAIS compliance will directly effect the 2 percent population that raise food and non-food animals. All costs will be passed on to every person who consumes U.S.- grown animal products.

Our own government could close down and quarantine every rodeo, state fair, PBR or race meet with the suspect of one disease of one animal. It will benefit every producer to contact the Federal and State Secretary of Agriculture, State Veterinarian, Governor, Senators, State Representatives, and encourage their opposition of this poorly advised, expensive legislation.

The assessment of fees, fines, penalties and complications of the program far out weigh any possible benefit. For additional information www.naissucks.com