By: Judith McGeary

Horse owners across the country have been told that the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) will not really impact them. Industry and government PR implied that horses would get some special deal. But the actual documents and events show that horse owners’ lives will be seriously affected if the government implements NAIS.

Horses have been included in the plans for NAIS from its inception – both the 2005 and the 2006 documents include horses. And now we have evidence of how NAIS would apply to horses in practice. On December 15, 2006, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture proposed regulations that would make premises registration and animal identification mandatory for all livestock animals, including horses. In place of the 24-hour reporting requirement in the federal NAIS plans, the proposed Kentucky regulations would require a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) for all movements, sales, and exhibitions, with only limited species-specific exceptions. “Exhibition” is defined to mean a “fair, show, exposition, rodeo, competition, or trail ride.” “Movement” is defined as “the act of moving, shipping, transporting, delivering, receiving or collecting animals by any means, method, or vehicle by any person for any purpose.” These broad definitions mean that almost every time a horse was taken off the owners’ property, it would need a CVI.

Granted, there are a few limited exceptions. A horse moving directly to a state approved horse sale, for racing purposes, farm to farm with no change of ownership, or to a veterinary facility, does not need a CVI. All other movements for sale, exhibition, training or change of ownership would require a CVI. Want to take your horse to a trainer? On a trail ride? To a local schooling show or rodeo? Sell your horse to your neighbor or a relative? Get ready to call your vet, pay for a barn visit or haul your horse in, and get a certificate!

What will the CVI show? The proposed regulations require “official individual identification,” the name and address of both the owner and the receiving location, and a certification from the bet that he/she has inspected the animal, and potentially additional information (not specified in the regulations). The proposed regulations do provide an alternative for exhibitions – an equine interstate event permit from approved states. To get one, your horse must have a permanent individual identification and you must keep “an accurate event itinerary log … documenting each equine movement.” In other words, you can avoid having a CVI for shows only if you keep a record of every movement you make with your horse, and be prepared to show it to the authorities. And even then you would still need the vet certification for movements other than for shows, such as to a trainers or selling your horse to a friend.

If all of that is not bad enough, the proposed regulations also allow for warrantless government intrusion on anyone who owns an animal. The proposed regulation would the state vet to “enter upon any farm, stockyard, auction barn, or any other place where animals are handled, for the purpose of inspecting and/or testing any animals for communicable diseases.” There are no requirements for a warrant or for any health emergency – the state vet could do enter the person’s property at any time, simply by giving notice. This proposed regulation covers all animals, not just livestock. Indeed, another section of the proposed regulations specify that dog and cat owners will also have to get CVIs for exhibitions. So even apartment dwellers with a pet dog might face a call from the State vet informing them that they are about to be inspected! These warrantless inspections could be done whether or not there was an actual outbreak occurring or without any human health risk at all.

Kentucky is known as horse country, with an industry that generates billions of dollars a year and hundreds of thousands of jobs. Yet even after all the reassuring government and industry PR materials, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture proposed these incredibly far-reaching and burdensome regulations. If it can happen in Kentucky, it can certainly happen in Texas. The Texas Animal Health Commission currently has authority to implement NAIS on a mandatory basis.

The good news is that the Texas Legislature is considering a bill, HB 637, that would limit NAIS to a voluntary program only, with protections against coercion. Those who want to be part of the program, could be; those who do not want to be, would not be forced into it. But we need a lot of people to tell their legislators to support this bill! Without public support, the bill will never become law – and we could very well be facing Kentucky-style regulations by this time next year. It’s critical that Texans take action now! Go to www.farmandranchfreedom.org for tools on how you can fight NAIS, from educating your neighbors to lobbying your legislators.

Judith McGeary is an attorney in Austin, Texas, and the Executive Director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance. She has a B.S. in Biology from Stanford University and a J.D. from The University of Texas at Austin. She and her husband run a small grass-based farm with Quarter Horses, cattle, sheep, and poultry. For more information, go to www.farmandranchfreedom.org or call 1-866-687-6452.

Proposed 302 KAR 20:020(3) & 20:065(1) (proposed Dec. 15, 2006).

Proposed 302 KAR 20:010(21).

Proposed 302 KAR 20:010(35).

Proposed 302 KAR 20:065, Section 4.

Proposed 302 KAR 20:020(c).

Proposed 302 KAR 20:020(5)).

Proposed 302 KAR 20:030 (emphasis added).