Reprint courtesy of Brenham Banner Press. P.O. Box 585 Brenham, TX 77834-0585 (979) 836-7956 Saturday, March 25, 2006 9:47 AM CST Kolkhorst wants delay in animal ID program Citing the lack of input from small producers and a concern over government intrusion and control, Kolkhorst in her letter wrote, “I respectfully request and strongly urge the TAHC postpone any implementation of a system until the Legislature can give more concrete guidelines and the TAHC sought more input from the small producers.” Leading agriculture trade groups recently requested that Congress and the Texas Legislature create a strong identification system as a component of the nation's agricultural infrastructure. As a result, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) made plans to phase in a system known as the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). To accommodate the USDA, Texas lawmakers passed HB 1361 by Rep. Rick Hardcastle (R-Vernon), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, with broad support. Effective last September, the law enables the Texas Animal Health Commission to establish rules in order to develop a statewide animal identification program which will be consistent with the USDA's program. “The USDA and our Washington leaders felt it was vital for Texas to eventually develop some type of an animal identification program,” Kolkhorst said. “The devil is in the details, and we need more public input from small and mid-size livestock producers before any plan moves forward. “It's dangerous to ignore the need for a safe and healthy food supply, but it's also dangerous to rush into things and give government too much control over our food sources.” In developing the piece of legislation, the Legislature worked closely with industry groups such as The Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Cattle Feeders Association and Texas Farm Bureau, to develop a program that would be agreeable to all parties, but a backlash has been growing from smaller independent livestock producers across the state. “Maybe the Texas Animal Health Commission needs to scrap this plan and start over,” said Kolkhorst, a former member of the House Agriculture Committee. “The main objective should be to develop and implement a comprehensive information system that will support ongoing animal disease monitoring. “We shouldn't have a situation where government creates extra hurdles for the small producers or drives little guys out of the cattle business so a few players can run the market. The Texas Animal Health Commission needs to take some time and listen to the people with five, 10 or 20 head of cattle. “The big groups like the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Cattle Feeders Association, and Texas Farm Bureau supported the original bill, but it seems to me that these groups and TAHC also need to engage our local agriculture community before anything is written in stone. “I agree that State and Federal animal health officials need to respond rapidly and effectively to animal health emergencies such as foreign animal disease outbreaks or emerging domestic diseases, but not at the cost of our basic liberties and freedoms.” Texas is the leading cattle producing state in the U.S. For this reason, lawmakers felt it was important to implement a program to develop an Animal Identification Program to provide for disease control and enhance the ability to trace disease-infected or exposed animals. To address privacy concerns, HB 1361 also outlined restrictions as to who may have access to the information collected as a part of this program. During the 2005 legislative session, the Legislature directed the TAHC to develop and maintain, at a minimal fee to producers, a premises database that would contain basic information on a ranch, feedlot or other livestock facility. If an animal disease such as foot and mouth, brucellosis, tuberculosis or BSE were discovered, this system would assist the agency in determining the location of an infected animal and any other animals that may have been exposed. Such a database will enable the TAHC and producers to quickly identify where a diseased animal has been and take appropriate action. Currently, TAHC is working only on the premise registration portion of the program. Although there have been discussions about an individual animal identification tag as part of the program, there is not currently any plan to implement mandatory ID tags. “We have a situation where the needs of our state's large agriculture businesses are clashing with the rural independent family farmers. The TAHC and the public need to work together on this, and I personally think more time and more facts are needed,” said Kolkhorst. The number of animal disease outbreaks that have been reported around the globe over the past decade has greatly intensified public interest in developing a national animal identification program for the purpose of protecting animal health. The European Union, Canada and Australia already have similar animal identification systems in place.
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