Livestock tracking program upsets some in Southwest Florida The federal government embarked on the massive effort to locate every livestock animal in the country - from cattle to backyard geese to 4-H hogs - in 2002. … Although it’s voluntary and free, the program may become mandatory in the future, said Stephen Monroe, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Florida’s NAIS coordinator.
The second part would be identifying animals - whether with an ear tag, a microchip leg band or other label - and placing them into a federal database. That hasn’t happened yet, and may not, depending on funding and the public’s reaction, said Vermont farmer Walter Jeffries, who heads up NONAIS, a group that opposes the program.
“They’ve gone back and forth on if it will be mandatory, voluntary or abandoned,” Jeffries wrote in an e-mail. “Congress cut their funding for NAIS to the bone (and) at this point things are quiet. We’ll see what happens.”
Although Jeffries and others in some parts of the country are up in arms about the program, in Lee County, no one has kicked up too much of a fuss.
“We’ve had some angry folks in some places,” said Monroe, “people who’ve accused us of being Big Brother or working for the tax man, but it’s not true.”
At a listening session in Austin, Texas, one of 14 held throughout the country, some attendees - mostly farmers - accused the government of lying, conspiring with corporations and wasting money (transcripts are at animalid.aphis.usda.gov). [Actually, that’s a bit of under reporting there. Virtually all the attendees opposed NAIS. Notice bias. -WJ]
So far, 220 livestock owners in Lee County have registered, Monroe said. Statewide, the total’s about 7,800 - about 30 percent, he estimates. [When they do their tallies and percents they only include the larger livestock owners in order to look like the percent registration is high. Yet they say that everyone, even someone with one chicken, just register. That would increase the 7,800 to probably 10 to 30 times that decreasing the percent registration to more like 1%. This is a standard ply that the USDA and states have been using to falsify registrations and claim support for NAIS where there is little. -WJ]
One of those who hasn’t heard of it or signed up is John Domanski of Buckingham, who raises a few dozen chickens, ducks and geese.
“I just don’t do that much business,” Domanski said, “and most of what I sell goes from here to the cook pot. It seems like it would be a big paperwork burden and the time you’d have to spend would make it prohibitive.”
The program is designed to “protect the health of U.S. livestock and poultry and the economic well-being of those industries … to quickly and effectively trace an animal disease to its source,” according to its Web site. Florida’s borders are very porous, with animals and people coming in and out by the millions, Monroe said - some potentially infected with deadly illness. [FUD - Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. Government uses this tactic when reason fails and they want to force sheeple up the chute. -WJ]
“We’re one sandwich away from a disaster like foot-and-mouth (a contagious disease of hoofed animals),” Monroe said. “Say someone comes from Europe with an infected ham sandwich, but when they take it out in Lee County, it smells funny so they toss it out the window. Feral pigs come along, eat it and then they spread the disease to horses, cows, goats and all of a sudden, we’re behind the 8-ball.”
-NewsPress
Hat tip to Sharon.
Walter Boy, Give it up pig farmer.Your going down bud.
[Bob Riley / Sam Walton - I hope that you do realize that you are making a threat in a public forum. Your IP address is recorded. The identifying information from your computer and other computers you use is recorded. Each time you visit a web site you are tagged and tracked. I now have an extensive log of your visits in addition to this threat. I have original copies of each of your postings. That’s how the internet works. If you make threats and especially if you take any actions along the lines of those threats then you can face criminal prosecution and I have the evidence to turn over to the police. I would suggest you focus on your driving and leave off with this criminal path you are pursuing. All server records are available to the police and can be used to track you across the country. At this point you are on public record as having made a threat against me. Should anything happen to me you are the first person that the police are going to hunt down to interrogate. Back off. -WJ]
Comment sam walton — September 14, 2009 @ 1:46 pm
BobSam what makes you feel so threatened by NAIS and by Walter that you feel you must threaten Walter?
Comment Dave O. — September 14, 2009 @ 3:04 pm
That ham sandwich story is a huge pile of hog turds. When the guy said that horses could catch hoof and mouth his ignorance was showing. Horses don’t catch hoof and mouth. Never have, never will. That said there is more danger that the USDA/APHIS and its animal disease facility/germ labs may very well cause an outbreak now that they plan to site the lab on US soil in Mississippi in the midst of cow country. Both of the outbreaks in Great Britain were related to germ lab escapes whether accidental or deliberate it matters not as the damage was done by their own government organization..They should be ashamed of themselves.
[You’re right, the story is garbage. That isn’t how the British got FMD although the US athorities keep trotting out that old myth. The FMD outbreak in England, both times, was traced back to a British government FMD lab. The government did in their own people by releasing FMD into the wild. They blamed all sorts of others at first. Then, the first time around, they slaughtered over 6 million healthy animals killing their livestock industry and with it much of their rural economy. The second time they started to do that but then apologized. Oops - So sorry old chap for all those farmers that committed suicide. Government is a disease vector. -WJ]
Comment Grizz — September 14, 2009 @ 3:52 pm
Every so often we get one of these types on here dont we? the kind who crash funerals just to eat and then complain about the mashed taters being lumpy, the proverbial turd in the punchbowl,they just gotta run their mouth off and prove how little they know about the subject at hand, this is just the latest example,they come and they go, they aggaviate some and make others laugh!
Those of you like Walter and Barbara who have been at this for years know the facts, I doubt this guy knows his real name, I run into these type people at most any meeting or debate about NAIS and you have too,they make you laugh and want to cry,because its got to be a sad life being so ignorant of the facts and to seemingly enjoy it,but then they want to share their misery with us! oh well, try to ignore these distractions like sambob and keep on with the job of defeating this insanity called NAIS, you are all doing a great job!….. Lee
“Live free or die tryin”
Comment LEE — September 14, 2009 @ 8:08 pm
Hey walter,
jojo here in S. Florida. I noticed this years fair Premium book had MORE expansive rules covered. For the Scrapie Id which of course they call the “premise Id”. Confusion abounds. This of course was for goats and sheep. But, i didn’t take a look at the steer and cow section. I gather its the same confusion. I can only tell so many that call and ask me, that they MUST ask for the Scrapie ID that is mandatory to show. And to decline any NAIS premise id. Problem is are they one and the same?
jo
Comment jojo — September 14, 2009 @ 9:23 pm
mr monroe,can you pack your own lunch on a over seas flight?i dont fly so i dont know,but i bet those feral pigs and those horses just cant wait for that sandwich to be tossed.maybe mr sam walton might want it,he seems to have his foot in his mouth already,and you know what,his foot fits his mouth is realy that big.
Comment nick — September 15, 2009 @ 7:54 pm
Last Saturday, September 12th somewhere between one and two million citizens marched on Washington D.C. to protest out of control government. NAIS is part of what is out-of-control. I urge all who oppose NAIS to add your voices to the Tea Parties because the uprising has just begun. This the coalition of Americans with many grievances all centered around un-Constitional government. This is the chance to add our voices and our cause to a massive movement. In fact, THEY are going down!
Comment PatH — September 15, 2009 @ 8:16 pm