A Moment of silence for Illinois.

A mandatory NAIS is fast upon us. This is why I have been writting so much on it lately. If you suport the National Animal Identifaction system, or not, you need to be aware of what is going on. And I know that many people have no idea what NAIS is. This program has been kept very quiet. That alone should concern you.

I have told you how the USDA is giving money to groups like Future Farmers of America, so that they will "teach" our children about NAIS. The Colorado State Fair is just one example of groups forcing parents of 4-Hers to register their premises as a farm. This doesn't mean only those of you that live in the country. If you breed rabbits in you surburban backyard, your house must also be registered.

REMISES ID REQUIREMENT ADOPTED FOR ILLINOIS FAIRS
New rule applies to all livestock exhibitors and takes effect next year

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A premises identification number will be required to exhibit livestock at state, county, 4-H and FFA fairs beginning in 2008, the Illinois Department of Agriculture announced today.

Premises registration is the first step toward the establishment of a National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and will greatly improve the ability of Illinois animal health professionals to contain disease outbreaks.

“Knowing the location of each and every livestock operation in the state would enable us to quickly trace the movement of infected animals, impose quarantines and, perhaps, prevent the disease from spreading to neighboring farms if an outbreak were to occur,” Agriculture Director Chuck Hartke said. “The information is absolutely critical to our disease-fighting capabilities, especially at events like fairs where large numbers of animals are confined for short periods of time and then moved. This is one, reasonable step we can take to protect not only the health of livestock, but also the livelihood of the entire livestock industry.” Press release continues here>>>>

You need to remember that most of the food borne illnesses that humans catch are due to mishandling of raw foods. If you get e-coli from eating a hamburger, it was either becase you yourself had touched something, say a grocery cart that the person before you had touched, a person that didn't wash their hands after going to the rest room, then you improperly washed you hands before eating or cooking. Or the food handler neglected handwashing as well, or perhaps the processing plant.

BSE aka madcow disease is caused by feeding cattle, who are normally herbivores, the remains of other cattle in the form of meat and bone meal, which caused the infectious agent to spread. How many family farms practice this? This is something that the stockyards tend to do, regulating and inspecting would decrease this practice.

Avian flu, from the CDC website;

Infection with avian influenza viruses in domestic poultry causes two main forms of disease that are distinguished by low and high extremes of virulence. The “low pathogenic” form may go undetected and usually causes only mild symptoms (such as ruffled feathers and a drop in egg production). However, the highly pathogenic form spreads more rapidly through flocks of poultry. This form may cause disease that affects multiple internal organs and has a mortality rate that can reach 90-100% often within 48 hours. more here>>>>

Did you read that? 90-100% DEATH in 48 hours. NAIS is a track back system that works on a 48 hour system. In the state of Kansas, when a bird is found dead, you make a call and know within hours what it is. This disease is preventable in humans by taking proper precautions, like hand washing. I haven't heard of anyone getting ill because they ate a sick bird.

Outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease have resulted in the slaughter of millions of animals, despite this being a frequently non-fatal disease. The destruction of animals is primarily to prevent the disease from spreading throughout herds intended for human consumption or producing milk. Due to international efforts to eradicate the disease, infection would also lead to trade bans being imposed on affected countries. Foot-and-mouth disease, was eradicated from the United States in 1929. {No high tech tracking was needed then}

Humans can contract vesicular stomatitis when handling affected animals if proper biosafety methods are not followed.

There is no specific treatment or cure for vesicular stomatitis. Owners can protect their animals from this disease by avoiding congregation of animals in the vicinity where vesicular stomatitis has occurred. Mild antiseptic mouthwashes may bring comfort and more rapid recovery to an affected animal. Good sanitation and quarantine practices on affected farms usually contain the infection until it dies out of its own accord. More from APHIS

These are the major animal diseases that the USDA will prevent with a 48 hour tracking system. NAIS will prevent biological warfare from terrorists by tracking the illness back to the original owner, and they can link this to terrorist activity how? I am trying, really trying to understand why I must give up my freedoms to pursue my happiness so that the USDA can cause a false sense of security for the general public.

Education of food, education of handling and the USDA actually inspecting slaughterhouses, instead of waiting to be sued by the houses, might help a tad better then the NAIS system.

The USDA also says that NAIS is not for household pets. Yet non-working horses and my goats will be required under this "voluntary" program to have the tags. Trina {the goat in my title area} won't look good in earrings, she's a natural beauty. One piece of good news however, is that if your animals never leave the farm where they are born, you do not have to tag them. So buy your animals before the "voluntary" program becomes mandatory in your state.