Small farmers are up against a serious threat to our way of life. The USDA has been organizing big business meat producers to produce the NAIS- National Animal Identification System. In the NAIS it will be mandatory for every animal owner to purchase a premise ID number for their property and a microchip to be implanted in every animal. The avarage annual cost for the small farm is about $500 per year. USDA claims this program will allow them to track disease, but it won't. Most small farmers and livestock owners don't even know what the NAIS is. Once the mandation is in affect you will have to report to the USDA everytime an animal is born, dies, sold, bred, enters onto or leaves your property. If you don't report within 24-48 hours you will face a $500- $1000 fine per incident per animal per day. This will drive the small livestock farmer out of business.
By January 1, 2008, the NAIS will be mandatory if we don't put a stop to it now. Every person who owns even one horse, cow, pig, chicken, duck, goose, sheep, alpaca, llama, bison, deer, elk or even dog will have to have their property registered and every animal microchiped. If however you own a big business farm/meat producer you only will have to purchase one microchip for each lot of animals. Does that seem quite fair...the small farm must purchase a microchip for each animal, but big business only must purchase one microchip for each lot of animals.
If you try to hide your animals from microchips then veterinarians, police, firemen, gas, electric, etc. are required by law to report unchipped animals to the government. If you don't comply with the filing or microchipping then the government has the right to enter your property day or night without warrant and seize, redistribute or kill all of your animals without any appeal by you.
Small livestock farmers and hobbyists need to let their congressmen know that we will not stand for this. You can read about the USDA's plan at http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais you can contact your congressmen at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov please do so.
Please don't go quietly into the system. Speak out and be heard. Our daily lives depend on it. Pass this petition on to everyone you know who owns animals and let them sign it.
