The
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance: Leading the Fight Against NAIS
By Judith McGeary, Farm
and Ranch Freedom Alliance
A
group of concerned citizens have joined together to form a new nonprofit, the
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA). This organization is dedicated to lobbying
on behalf of independent farmers, ranchers, homesteaders, and other livestock
animal owners. While you may consider your horses to be your pets or companions,
the law considers them to be livestock animals. For too long, legislators and
agency bureaucrats have heard only from large, corporate interests. It is time
for them to hear from us!
People have discussed the need for an organization such as FARFA for several
years, but the specific impetus to create FARFA came from the threat of national
animal identification system (“NAIS”). Many horse-owners and enthusiasts
are just now becoming aware of NAIS, which has been developed over the last
several years by the USDA and the largest-scale animal industry companies and
manufacturers of microchipping systems. NAIS is a perfect example of the problems
posed when government bureaucrats and large companies and associations make
rules that they then seek to impose on everyone.
The USDA released “Draft Program Standards” and a “Draft Strategic
Plan” in 2005, outlining a 3-step system:
1. Premises registration: Every person who owns or manages property with even
one horse, cow, pig, chicken, sheep, goat, deer, elk, bison, or virtually any
livestock animal, will be forced to register their home in a database.
2. Animal identification: Each and every animal will be assigned a 15-digit
ID number, also to be kept in a database, before it is moved from its herd of
origin or commingled with other animals. For horses, the form of ID will most
likely be a microchip. Other livestock may be microchipped, radio tagged, or
otherwise physically identified. While group numbers may be available for swine
and poultry, that is only if the animals are managed together from birth to
death and never commingled with other animals; most small farmers and ranchers
do not manage their animals in ways that will qualify.
3. Animal tracking: The owner will be required to report to the government within
24 hours: every time a tag is applied, a tag is lost or replaced, an animal
is killed or dies, or an animal is missing. Reports would also have to be filed
every time an animal goes onto or off of a premises or commingles with animals
from other premises.
So what does this all mean for you? You will have to register with the government,
tell them what animals you own, microchip every horse, and report every time
you take your horse off your property. This would include each time you take
a mare to the breeder's, take a horse to a trainer, go to a riding lesson or
4-H or Pony Club practice, or go to a show, trail ride or rodeo! Imagine the
cost and the loss of your freedom.
NAIS sounds so absurd that many people wonder how it came about. Initial proposals
for an electronic identification and tracking system were discussed by various
individuals involved in the cattle industry back in the early 1990s. Then, in
2002, the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) established a task
force to create a national animal identification system. While NIAA may sound
like a public interest organization, its membership includes the large commercial
agricultural interests, such as Cargill Meat and the National Pork Producers
Council. And many NIAA members are companies that provide tagging and tracking
equipment or software services, such as Global Vet Link, Allflex, and Digital
Angel & Electronic ID.
Having
developed the concept of a national animal identification system, the NIAA established
a task force that included the USDA. The USDA then established a team that developed
NAIS in its current form, and created species-specific working groups. The lists
of working group members can be found on USDA’s website. Many of the connections
between working group members and corporate interests are obvious, while others
are not and require some research to discover. Notably lacking is any real representation
of small farmers and ranchers or the average horse owner.
So this terribly burdensome and intrusive program was developed by representatives
of large industry and government bureaucrats. Most of us were entirely unaware
of what was happening, much less able to affect the outcome. And now we are
told that we simply have to learn to live with the results. But by working together
through groups such as FARFA, we can stop NAIS.
Please visit FARFA’s website at www.farmandranchfreedom.org to learn more
about NAIS and what you can do. At the state level, we are urging that the Texas
Legislature enact legislation limiting the Texas Animal Health Commission’s
authority to a voluntary program only. We are also urging that the agency be
required to provide full disclosure before people enroll; several people have
stated that they have already signed up for premises registration under the
mistaken impression that it was required, or because they were unaware of the
full scope of the program, and this needs to stop. At the federal level, FARFA
is urging that Congress stop spending our tax dollars to fund NAIS and explicitly
limit USDA to a voluntary program only.
Beyond the immediate problem of NAIS, FARFA will continue to serve as the voice
for farmers, ranchers, and other livestock owners. The issues are many and varied:
land use regulations, land valuation issues, condemnation of land for “public
purposes,” protection of Constitutional rights and liberties, and many
others. Priorities will be based both on threats (such as NAIS) and on recognizing,
and even creating, new opportunities. We must support the growing movement of
people back to the land and their connection with horses and other animals.
Make your voice heard by joining the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance!
For more information, contact Judith McGeary, Executive Director, Farm and
Ranch Freedom Alliance, at (512) 243-2706 or jmcgeary@att.net, or visit our
website at www.farmandranchfreedom.org