The National Animal Identification System is a federal registry program for livestock and for the premises where animals live or visit.  The stated purpose of the system is to aid state and federal government response to outbreaks of animal disease.  Discussion about the need for an animal identification system has been going on for a while, and escalated after the discovery of the first case of mad cow disease in the U.S. in 2003.

Unfortunately, the meat industry and their friends inside the USDA seem intent on creating a privatized system for tracking animals and taking tracking to a ridiculous level, with the potential to force small farmers to track every chicken or someone who keeps a couple of goats or a horse to register them with the government.

Lots of groups, including ours, would like the government to do a better job of finding out where cows with mad cow disease lived and what they ate (how they got the disease.)  However, no need has been demonstrated to track other animals, and the motives of USDA are suspect.  For instance, large poultry operations would be able to register as one facility, but there is concern that the rules could require a small farmer with chickens to track each one.

The current plan to create a federal animal identification system ignores existing state animal health programs, puts too much emphasis on privatizing the data collection (forcing small farmers to submit data about their operations to trade associations they don’t support), and essentially forces small farmers and ranchers to pay for a safety net for agribusiness.

The conditions that make it hard to track down herd-mates of cattle with mad cow disease exist because many small ranchers, slaughterhouses, and processors have already left the business.  We believe a system for tracking beef can be developed that is technology neutral (allows producers to decide how best to keep track of their animals) and does not adversely impact family farmers.  However, when it comes to preventing and preparing for animal diseases, it is equally important to create additional safeguards at slaughter facilities, track imported animals, and immediately implement Country of Origin Labeling.