Highly Publicized Austin Meeting on Animal I.D. System
A Bust
By: Judith McGeary
The American Horse Council (AHC) has played a key role in the National Animal
Identification System (NAIS). In 2002, the AHC appointed members to a “task
force,” which later became the official Equine Species Working Group.
Last month, the AHC held an Issues Forum in Austin, which included a high-profile
panel discussion on the NAIS. Unfortunately, the event was not aimed at informing
the general horse-owning public; the $100 entry fee discouraged most individuals,
and only about 35 people attended the panel discussion.
The theme of the presentation was that the NAIS is voluntary right now and there
are no rules yet. And yet the ultimate aim of the NAIS is the same as it has
always been: every animal owner, including every horse owner, will have to register
their premises, individually identify their animals with a standardized high-tech
method, and report their movements to a database. Notably, the USDA has not
withdrawn the 2005 and 2006 documents that set out this plan for all livestock,
nor has it stated that horses will be excluded from the program. Indeed, horses
are specifically listed as an included species in the USDA documents.
How can the panels’ statements be reconciled with the documents? The message
was that horse owners should not worry right now, because there is nothing in
place at this exact moment. But with the documents clearly setting out what
we can expect for the future, it would be shortsighted to ignore them. And the
industry officials clearly aren’t closing their eyes to the future, either.
For example, in the opening statements, Jay Hickey, the president of AHC, spoke
of his vision of what the horse industry would be like in 2025: all horses will
be microchipped, and people will simply drive by or through a reader at shows,
trail rides, etc. to report their movements.
Neil Hammerschmidt, the USDA official in charge of implementing the NAIS, re-iterated
the USDA’s goal to have 100% of all premises with animals registered and
100% of all “new” animals identified by January 2009. He stated
that, “Today, USDA’s position is that NAIS is voluntary.”
Yet common sense dictates that 100% of animal owners will not “volunteer,”
and that the government will have to take non-voluntary measures to reach its
goals. Indeed, Mr. Hammerschmidt’s superior, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Johanns, recently stated that the states may implement mandatory programs and
the USDA will continue to fund such programs. Combined with the USDA’s
stated goal of 100% participation, the message to the states is clear: implement
a mandatory program or risk losing federal dollars.
In a similar vein, Dr. Hillman, the Executive Director of the Texas Animal Health
Commission, stated that there is voluntary, free registration “until at
least 2007.” In other words, there is no guarantee that premises registration
will remain voluntary or free unless the Texas Legislature takes action in the
next session. Dr. Hillman also included powerpoint slides and discussion of
the “goal.” That goal includes registration of every premises, identification
of every horse, and reporting. Dr. Hillman stated that, if a person were to
haul a horse to a show in Oklahoma, this would be a reportable event. If the
owner decides to sell that horse to a buyer, even one within the same state,
he would “report the transfer to the new premises.” He stated that
the reporting will start with those situations where a CVI or Coggins is required,
but he made no mention of where the reporting would end. Remember that a Coggins
test is required in Texas for every sale, show, and many other events. The message
was clear: while the Equine Species Working Group has changed its earlier recommendations,
and is now recommending that horse owners not report to databases, this is only
a temporary reprieve. The ultimate goal remains the same.
Even the current so-called voluntary state programs are not truly voluntary.
During the question and answer session, one audience participant stated that
Minnesota is now requiring people to have a premises ID to take a horse to an
equine event. Owners of other livestock species have found that their information
has been taken out of databases and placed in the NAIS database, without their
knowledge or consent. And cattle owners in Michigan now face mandatory electronic
ID requirements. All of this has occurred without regulations or rules creating
an explicitly mandatory NAIS.
Despite the repeated disclaimer that there are no rules yet, so the officials
can’t be specific about what the program will and will not require, Dr.
Smith of the American Quarter Horse Association appeared comfortable reassuring
the audience that the data will be kept in what he termed a “Tier 1”
database. He discussed the multiple layers of security used for such databases.
He said that there are only a dozen or so Tier 1 facilities in the whole country
right now. If these databases are so elaborate that they are only used in a
handful of situations, can you imagine the costs associated with them? When
asked after the meeting, Dr. Smith fell back on the claim that there are too
many uncertainties to estimate the costs. So horse owners should not worry because
the database will be secure, but there are no rules and we don’t know
the costs of such security. We cannot afford to rely on this type of reassurance.
Interestingly, while the speakers repeatedly stated that there were no rules
yet, they felt confident contradicting other officials. One audience participant
stated that the Oklahoma state veterinarian told her that everyone would need
a premises ID to buy or sell animals at her sales barn. If an animal were not
chipped when it came to the sale, the sales barn would have to do it. Both Jay
Hickey and Dr. Hillman dismissed this report as unfounded. They did not address
why a state veterinarian – the official ultimately charged with enforcing
the program in Oklahoma – would be telling animal owners that these would
be the requirements.
Dr. Gibbs, the official at the Extension Service charged with this program who
sits on the Equine Species Working Group, was the last to speak. He discussed
several of the concerns that the Extension Service has heard from the public
and noted the need for education. In February, he asked 100 broodmare owners
how many of them knew that they might be expected to register their premises,
and not one person knew about it. How can the government claim that the program
as broad support in the industry when so many horse owners don’t know
anything about it?
The speakers encouraged people to comment to the working group and USDA. Yet
what assurances are there that our concerns will be addressed? The working group
was appointed by AHC without any input from the vast majority of horse owners.
New co-chairs were recently appointed, again without any input. (The new chairs
are Dr. Smith of AQHA and Jim Moorehead of the American Association of Equine
Practitioners).
We are told that our associations are representing our interests for us. Yet
many organizations potentially have financial interests in the NAIS. For example,
Mr. Hammerschmidt noted that the USDA will allocate Animal Identification Numbers
to approved manufacturers; these manufacturers may then establish marketing
agreements with tag managers, who in turn will contract with tag resellers.
Each company in the chain will obviously expect to make a profit for itself.
Veterinarians, service providers, and breed organizations can all be resellers
of the tags, so they cannot be relief upon for an unbiased perspective on this
program. The breed registries may also be designated as the official databases,
giving them yet another potential financial interest in the NAIS.
Go talk to the board of directors of your breed registry or other horse-related
association. Ask them what role the association has played in the development
of the NAIS and what the official position is. If you believe that the NAIS
is not in your best interests, then tell them you want them to take a position
opposing the program. Don’t accept the excuse that we have to go along.
As an American, everyone has the right to say that they oppose a government
program and want it to stop. And don’t accept the excuse that it’s
too early to take a position. The industry has been working on this program
since at least 1988, the USDA has been working on it since 2002, and over $84
million of our tax dollars have been spent on it. If not now, then when?
For more information about the NAIS and what you can do about it, go to www.farmandranchfreedom.org
or call 1-866-687-6452.