NAIS
NAIS NEWS - NOVEMBER 2006
Equine Species Working Group Recommends No Movement
Reporting
National Animal Identification System to be Voluntary
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has emphasized that
the National Animal Identification System will be a voluntary
program and that no plans are in place to make the program
mandatory. The news was posted in a press release from
the Equine Species Working Group on November 20th.
The NAIS has been a hot topic of discussion for the past
few years concerning livestock - including horses. It
is a system intended to control the spread of disease
and to minimize the negative impact of a disease outbreak
on the livestock industry. This would be done through
the identification of premises that hold or manage livestock,
animal identification and the recording of animal movements.
Some states are mandating parts of the system within their
state, for example mandatory premises registration in
Wisconsin, but the NAIS as a national comprehensive program
is not mandatory.
“I've been taking a hard look at the program, basically
took it all the way down to the frame and rebuilding,
trying to make it simpler, make it more evident of what
it's all about, trying to dispel some of the misinformation
and rumor and innuendo that's been associated with it,"
said Bruce Knight, the new under secretary for marketing
and regulatory programs at USDA in an article that appeared
on October 20, 2006 on the Brownfield Ag Network.
"I think the most important thing for everybody to recognize
is this is a voluntary program,” continued Knight. “So
that means that we’ve got to have a program that a rancher
can look at and say, ‘this is worth the extra cost on
my operation.’”
One of the key recommendations made by the Equine Species
Working Group, the task force developed to evaluate the
NAIS and develop recommendations as to how the horse industry
might be able to participate in such a system, is that
no equine movements should be reported. In their recommendations
submitted to the USDA in August, the ESWG proposed that
horses that move to a premises where a Certificate of
Veterinary Inspection, Brand Inspection, permit or International
are required should be officially identified and that
the records maintained through those currently existing
and utilized movement permits capture the high risk movements
that pose the largest threat of spreading disease. Animal
health officials would be able to query the state databases
in the event of a disease emergency to obtain the necessary
records. Other recommendations submitted to the agriculture
department by the ESWG include the standardization of
requirements for CVIs, that the equine-related components
of the NAIS should provide definitive benefits to the
horse industry that exceed the cost to stakeholders, that
when practical, the NAIS should be compatible with other
nations, especially Canada and Mexico, and that USDA-approved
identification and movement databases must be exempt from
Freedom of Information Act requirements.
If horse owners choose to utilize microchips for the purpose
of official identification, the ESWG recommends use of
the ISO/ANSI compatible RFID chip (11784/85, 134.2 kHz)
and that RFID reader and scanner manufacturers and suppliers
should make an immediate effort to provide readers and
scanners that can read ISO/ANSI 11784/11785 microchips,
and read or at least detect all 125 kHz frequency companion
animal microchips. The ESWG is the designated United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) working group for horses
on the issue of the National Animal Identification System
(NAIS). It is the working group’s responsibility to review
and evaluate the NAIS and the possible participation of
the horse industry in the program, as well as developing
recommendations for a national equine identification plan
that is in the best interests of, and protects the rights
of, horse owners and breeders. |
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