SAN ANTONIO, Texas Ñ The U.S. Department of Agriculture is pressuring livestock groups to move on a national identification program, but there is no deadline.
“We have a mutual concern that we are not working fast enough,” said Allen Bright, chair of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s animal identification committee.
The industry continues to haggle over key issues such as cost of the program, what kind of identification to use and who should manage the data to maintain confidentiality.
The committee is proposing that the information be kept by a nonprofit agency that would be able to release it to authorities in the event of an animal disease outbreak or similar emergency.
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“To make this successful we are going to have to be in lockstep with (the U.S. Department of Agriculture). The information will have to be readily available to them,” Bright told the recent NCBA meeting held in San Antonio Feb. 2-5.
“Our goal with a private system is to provide vets with all the information they need to do their jobs.”
The government has allocated $33 million US a year for the identification program to cover all livestock but the NCBA committee is worried it is not enough to cover all species.
The plan is to cover cattle, horses, sheep, goats, swine, deer, elk, bison, llamas, alpacas and poultry.
“There should be tax credits available for people who are working on animal ID,” Bright said.
To keep the system viable, producers may have to pay a surcharge on ear tags.
Confidentiality is a major concern for producers.
The information is meant to provide location and details of animals in the event of a health problem or emergency.
Information should be released only to state veterinarians or USDA veterinarians responsible for protecting animals against disease.
Concerns have been raised that someone could sue to release information but the committee said it would not give up anything without a court order.
