By Karen Brown

The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, spearheaded by Judith McGeary of Austin, has been making major waves throughout Texas and the United States this past year in the ongoing fight to stop the USDA’s plan to implement a National Animal Identification System (NAIS). While the NAIS is currently voluntary at the federal level, federal funding has created, and continues to create, incentives for States to implement mandatory programs or to use coercive measures to increase participation.

Pro-NAIS entities claim that “the industry” supports the USDA’s plans for NAIS, with only minor objections on such issues as the Freedom of Information Act provisions. These organizations, such as the American Quarter Horse Association and Farm Bureau Insurance, claim to speak for their members even where, in many cases, they have not presented the issue to their membership for a vote.

Until and unless organizations that represent small farmers, everyday animal owners, and citizens that may not even own animals, speak up, legislators will continue to believe that animal owners support NAIS. FARFA has drafted a Position Statement
Opposing the National Animal Identification System to provide a means where all organizations, businesses, and groups of people can, in essence, register their “vote” against NAIS.

This Position Statement provides a concise account of NAIS, the problems with the program, and the reasons FARFA is opposed to the program. In summary, anyone who signs a statement is adding their name and/or organization to the ever growing list of people who publicly oppose NAIS.

The Position Statement recites a brief list of the reasons for opposing NAIS, including but not limited to: Constitutional violations of personal and property rights, the ineffectiveness of the program with regard to animal health, the undetermined but certain high cost of NAIS that will be borne by animal owners, the lack of Congressional authority to create such a system, increase in government bureaucracy, and detrimental consequences to free market trade in the agricultural industry. It calls for Congress and the State Legislatures to halt the implementation of the NAIS and investigate more effective and non-intrusive means of addressing animal health.

While Position Statements don’t have a specific legal or official role, their strength comes from the fact that they represent the united voice of many people in an organization, or in multiple organizations. They provide a clear, concise statement of the views and desires of the people, which the legislators must consider in creating (or refusing to create) laws.

Individual persons, groups of persons, or any organization, business, church, or any kind of association can sign this Statement. It can be downloaded from the FARFA website at: http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/files/Position%20statement% 2012.05.06_0.doc. Or you can find the form by going to www.farmandranchfreedom.org. Click on “Articles and Alerts”, then click on the “FARFA Position Paper” link. It is a one page document; signatures should be added on a second sheet or on the back of the page with a date and title of the group, business or organization. The original should then be mailed to FARFA.

FARFA provides a list of signatories on the website, to the press and to legislators in order to emphasize the magnitude of opposition to NAIS. The more organizations, businesses and associations that sign the Position Statement, the greater the impact on politicians and the more powerful the message will be.

In Texas, the State Legislature will be considering a bill in the current session to amend the existing mandatory NAIS statute to limit the program to a voluntary status. Should that change be made it would be a major victory in retaining personal freedoms and stopping governmental intrusion into our lives; it is very important that individuals and organizations make their position on NAIS very clear to the Texas Legislature early in 2007.

Taking a stand and making one’s voice heard is what makes the democratic process work. Exercise your right to speak and be heard at a time when it is most needed.