Farmers worried about new animal ID requirements

By Steve Jackson
Spokane Public Radio

If you keep animals like chickens cows or goats, you may be surprised to learn what the federal government is prepared to do to stop the spread of animal diseases.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is putting together an animal identification plan, and wants owners of animals, even folks with just a few animals, to keep the government informed of their whereabouts.

This past legislative session, Washington lawmakers instituted some restrictions on the general plan, but some farmers are still worried that the federal guidelines may be too intrusive.

The USDA created the National Animal Identification System in an effort to slow the spread of potential diseases like mad cow or avian flu.

Neil Hammerschmidt is the national coordinator for the ID system. “When an animal is determined to be positive for a disease the first question is, where has the infected animal been?" he said. "Answering this question is critical for determining what other animals were exposed and estimating the size and scope of the outbreak.”

The effort is being implemented in 3 phases, with the first, premises registration, already underway in Washington State.

State agriculture officials want everyone that owns animals, other than dogs and cats, to register their premise location, no matter how small the operation.

The next phase of the national program calls for people to provide information on what type animals they have, and eventually will establish a system for tracking the movement of those animals.

At this point the program is voluntary, but the USDA says it will consider whether to make portions mandatory. At least one state, Wisconsin, has already mandated parts of the system.

Washington is more cautious. Okanagan Representative Joel Kretz says state lawmakers have put some limits on the program.

“We put together a shield for producers that don’t want to give our proprietary secrets or things that business wouldn’t have to disclose for competitive reasons or just privacy reasons.”

Some farmers hope the state will do more to screen them from the requirements of the law.
Fran Ogren operates an organic farm near the town of Northport.

“The expense will be horrendous, the invasion of privacy, the paperwork involved.”

Ogren worries requirements for reporting the movement of animals will even hamper efforts for children involved in showing their 4-H projects.

“Every time an animal leaves your property and returns you will have to send documentation and a fee to cover the bureaucracy to the government.”

The USDA’s Neil Hammerschmidt says Ogren is reading too much into a system that is still being refined.

“No regulations have been developed or initiated for requiring the reporting of animals.”

The USDA website indicates that animals that leave a persons property will have to be identified and tracked. Hammerschmidt says it is likely the requirements for animals that are moved to local show will be different than the rules for larger auctions, that include animals from all over the country.

Representative Joel Kretz says the state Department of Agriculture is putting together a study group that will look at what reasonable requirements can be implemented to track any contagious animal diseases in Washington.