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SPEAKER AT GAINESVILLE OPRC MEETING SAYS NAIS IS NOT DEAD: JUST RENAMED

    Contrary to what you are being told the National Animal Identification System is not dead; just renamed, reworded and still very much alive, This was the message brought to the Ozarks Property Rights Congress meeting in Gainesville Thursday, February 11 by Bob Parker who said he hated to bring that news. "Being one of those who has worked hard over the past four or five years to stop NAIS, nothing would please me and my co-workers more than to be able to report that indeed NAIS has gone away. But sadly it is still here under a new name and coming at us with a reshuffled approach".  Parker read excerpts from a fact sheet released by USDA Feb, 5th which outlined the new approach.

    The animal identification program will now be called  the Federal Animal Disease Traceability System and premise identification registration numbers are  now "unique location identifiers."  Parker pointed out that the USDA paper says that since so much tax payer money has been spent on efforts to implement NAIS that as much of the failed program as possible must be salvaged and used in the new program such as use of the NAIS"840" ear tags. They say it would be fiscally irresponsible to disregard all elements of NAIS.

    USDA acknowledged that massive public opposition to their proposed NAIS program has caused them to revise the prior policy and offer a new approach .

    Parker noted that while USDA says the frame work for the new  approach will emphasize states participation, they are very clear and emphatic on one major point which seems non negotiable in their view. They intend to enforce animal identification at the level of interstate commerce as they said they would do under the original NAIS plan. This would force Missouri producers into their program as the state has practically no in-state feed lots or major slaughter facilities causing nearly all of the states livestock production to cross state lines.

    Addressing the issue of states like Missouri which have passed laws prohibiting forced participation in NAIS, the fact sheet points out that this program is no longer called NAIS and the new framework will spell out what states must do for their animals to be able to move in interstate commerce.

    Parker expressed disdain for those elected officials who quickly put out news releases bragging how they were instrumental in stopping NAIS. "They evidently didn`t read the rest of the story and were quick to make political hay. They do their constituents  a real dis-service by touting a hollow victory."

OPRC president Russell Wood said the fact sheet Parker was referencing can be found at the groups web site www.ozarkprc.com or www.r-calfusa.com or http://www.aphis.usda.gov/

 under Questions and Answers: new animal traceability framework.