NAIS User Guide Preliminary Analysis by Mary Zanoni
Report of the Committee on Livestock Identification of the U.S. Animal Health Association
Why we oppose any government managed or funded
National Animal Identification System (NAIS)
WHAT IS NAIS?
NAIS is another expensive, large government program that discriminates against small farmers. Proposed by the USDA,
NAIS imposes on all livestock and animal owners a high-tech, high-cost livestock backtrack system requiring:
a. Registration of any premises where even one animal, a chicken, pet donkey, etc… is kept, in a database accessible
to many agencies and foreign governments.
b. Radio Frequency ID (RFID) microchipping or tagging of every animal.
c. Reporting and recording each animal’s movements within 24 hours, under threat of severe penalty, including
confiscation of animals and fines of $1000 per day, per infraction.
WHY WE OPPOSE NAIS
1. It will not work.
In Australia and Canada, where it has been tried only on cattle, error rates are in the millions.USDA promises of efficacy are both premature and inaccurate. It will be a database nightmare, bogging the entire
food system down in a quagmire of undeleted and unentered data.
2. Manipulation potential.
With the significant data breaches that have occurred, especially in government systems,the temptation and/or propensity for price and market manipulation from global and industrial interests with this data
is virtually unquantifiable.
3. Moving objective.
Since first conceived, NAIS has been touted for disease prevention, then as a marketingtechnique. Proponents do not have a clear justification. USDA encouraged feeding dead cows to cows for 40 years
until mad cow--so much for the trustworthiness of expert scientists.
4. Discriminatory toward community-based food systems.
The requirements and infrastructure are highly prejudicialagainst small producers and local food systems. The provisions favor industrial and global producers and processors.
To saddle small producers with industry problems is unconscionable.
5. Veterinarian-farmer enmity.
County fairs, local abbattoirs, hatcheries, and veterinarians who have always beenfarmers' friends will become the new enforcement points. The ensuing mistrust and circumvention will destroy
strength and safety.
6. Cost.
So far, costs estimates vary from 40 cents per animal to $30 per animal--including chickens. The alleged cureis far worse than the disease. The paperwork alone, along with bureaucratic harassment, will force many small
farmers to throw up their hands in surrender.
7. Unnecessary.
Current prevention and tracking techniques are working well. Anyone who wants this type of trackingcan already have it. A market driven and paid-for system accomplishes all the security necessary.
8. Government involvement means mandatory NAIS
. USDA officials have made it clear that efficacy demands 100percent participation. Any government program will soon morph into a mandatory one. Industry operated and funded
is fine.
9. Faith.
Ultimately, as with all government programs, this boils down to a matter of trust. Community-based foodcommerce engenders trust inherently with relationship transactions that are more accountable than bureaucratically operated
systems.
10. Historically unprecedented.
For the first time in civilization, virtually every Little Red Hen must be registered inorder to deliver one egg to her caretaker. Such licensing should surely give every American pause.