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About 16
months ago the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries launched
the first step of the National Animal Identification System. That step is
premises registration. Since that time we have registered over 2200
premises in the state.
Initially
the number of applications was fairly large, and then with time they have
dropped to a small but steady stream of applicants registering their
livestock and poultry premises in the state. I believe that maybe some of
the momentum has been lost because of a small, but loud group of people
who oppose this program. I am not opposed to people standing up and taking
a position on what they believe, but it seems that the chorus of
"nays" is led by misinformation and statements that not only do
not make sense, but cannot be backed up by fact.
There are
certain websites that are dedicated solely to stopping the National Animal
Identification System. That holds the potential of being a tragic mistake.
Because of that, I want to revisit premises registration and some of the
myths that surround it.
Some people
argue that using things like BSE (mad cow disease), foot and mouth disease
and other foreign animal diseases are just scare tactics to get producers
to support the program. We hear people say that we have not had foot and
mouth disease in the United States in decades, so we should not be
concerned.
I hope we
are never faced with having to deal with that disease in the U. S.
However, if we learned one thing from the foot and mouth disease outbreak
in the United Kingdom in 2001, it is that early recognition followed by
rapid containment is critically important. In the U. K., almost 4 million
head of cattle and about twice that many sheep and goats had to be
destroyed. Most of us can still remember the footage on the news of
carcasses piled up and being burned. The fact that the virus has not been
diagnosed in many years does not mean that it could not happen at any
time, and the results would likely be devastating.
If that
were to happen, it would not surprise me if the same people who are
opposed to the identification program were not the first to point an
accusing finger at the government and say, "You knew this could
happen. Why didn’t you do something before now?" Should something
like foot and mouth disease be diagnosed in the U.S., or any other disease
that threatens our present safe, wholesome, economical food supply,
recovery would absolutely depend on animal traceability.
We hear
people say that this is just another government program that invades our
privacy. The fact is that in 2002, the National Animal Identification
System was initiated by producers and their organizations that recognized
the importance of being able to quickly track, quarantine, and test
animals that may have been exposed to a foreign animal disease.
The
argument that this is another way that government wants to know more about
a producer’s business certainly does not even remotely apply to premises
registration. The information needed includes the location of the animals,
a contact person’s name and contact information for the person most
knowledgeable about the livestock or poultry on the premises, the species
associated with the premises, and the type of operation (producer, auction
market, slaughter facility, etc). For the most part, the information is
available in the phone book. In fact, a major portion of the information
can be gleaned from just driving up and down the road. During the days of
Brucellosis (Bang’s) testing, that is exactly how we collected much or
our premises information—by driving up and down the road, locating
herds, knocking on doors and asking who owned those cows. Premises
registration is just doing that step in advance of a foreign animal
disease outbreak. I am fairly certain when producers register their
premises, that it will not be some great revelation to the government.
Others are
saying that premises registration is not even a necessary step. The logic
is that if the owner’s contact information is available, then we should
be able to contact that producer and they can tell us where their animals
are housed or pastured. Please remember that the goal is to locate exposed
animals rapidly, within 48 hours of known exposure. Our recent experience
in trying to trace the BSE cow back to the farm of origin (where it was
born) has shown us that contacting producers is not an exact science.
There have been producers that were out of state on business, truck
drivers on long hauls across the country and those that work long hours,
as well as those who returned calls after a few days. A disease like
highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu) or foot and mouth disease
demands rapid response. If we know where the animals live, we can respond
more quickly.
Finally,
friends, we live in a global environment these days. Actions we take and
plans we make, or don’t make, will have an impact on the ability of our
products to compete internationally. And I am firmly convinced this holds
true whether you own a few cows or hundreds, a few laying hens in the
backyard or thousands contracted commercially. This is again made a
reality in the recent BSE case as a foreign country now questions the age
of the index animal. This cow had no identification and was most likely
never part of a large cattle herd.
There are
other issues that the anti-National Animal Identification System community
brings up, but most of them have been well thought out by those industry
and government representatives who are developing the program. I hope that
each producer in our state will not only look at the importance of the
identification system, but will also consider how vulnerable we are
without the ability to track animals quickly in the event of a foreign
animal disease outbreak.
We will
continue to press forward with premises registration. If you have any
questions, please give me a call. My number is 334-240-7253 or you may
download a voluntary premises registration form at our web site at: www.agi.alabama.gov.
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