Reprint courtesy of The Smithville Times

Letter to the Editor mgwin@smithvilletimes.com 512-2374655

Thursday, March 16, 2006 Volume 115 number 11

Beware rules proposed by Texas Animal Health Commission

Editor,

Glad to see your article in the Thursday issue tiled “Registration
rules rile livestock owners”. Your paper is one of the few publications
in our state that has caught on to this explosive, invasive issue.
Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) was trying their best to fly
these rules under the radar.   If this state agency is allowed to adopt
it’s proposed rules honest hardworking citizen in our state would be
turned into criminals overnight.
Unsuspecting private livestock/pet owners – even those who live in
town, not associated with livestock production – would be subject to
class “C” misdemeanors charges for non compliance. According to TAHC
proposed rules a $1,000 per day fine for non-compliance could be
levied. Grandma and her pet chicken, the pet potbelly pig owner, even
the little barrel riding teenage girls and their trusty ponies would be
subject to TAHC’s crackdown on livestock premises registration. For the
first time in history citizens will be required to ask the state of
Texas for permission to own livestock.
Premises registration is the first step in a three-part program.  Step
one; is to get you to tell the government where you are, and pay a tax
every other year of $20. Step two; you will be required to tag each of
your animals with an electronic ear tag. Horses and other equines may
have to be microchipped. No one knows for sure just how much it will
cost but estimates run anywhere from $10 to $60 per head. Of course
everyone is mum on how much you will have to pay the state per head to
register you animals. Step 3; anytime you move your pet or livestock
you will have to report where you took your animal. Of course, is there
going to be a report filing fee?
What everyone needs to know is, NAIS in our state is 20 percent about
health, 80 percent about money.  TAHC for years has been a free health
insurance program for very large livestock producers. Generally small
producers take care of their own herds out of their own pocketbooks.
When select big livestock producers run into costly animal health
issues they step back and let TAHC and the USDA step in and clean up
their mess at taxpayers’ expense.
For example back in February of 2004 a large scale Gonzales County
chicken rancher had some sick chickens. TAHC stepped in and identified
a contagious bird disease. The cure was to purchase all 6,000 chickens
from the farm, kill them all, dispose their carcass, clean and
disinfect this large-scale business. On the house por gratis. Total
bill for the clean up was $2.9 million, that right $2,900,000!
Now that our state is crying “give me more tax dollars,” TAHC is under
the gun to come up with some type of fee structure for their service.
Instead of charging  “big boy money makers” fees when they need help,
they want to charge your Granny.
Bob Hillman, director of TAHC, has a rather strange sense of what is
fair. He seems to think it is fair to put Granny in a position that if
she chooses not to allow the state of Texas to snoop into her life,
violate her privacy, violate her rights to do as she pleases on her own
property and be subject to $1,000 per day fine or pay $20 every two
years tax.
He thinks it is only fair Granny has to go thru the exact same red tape
for her one pet chicken and pay the exact same amount of tax as the
chicken rancher with his 6,000 bird flock. He seems to think it is only
right old Uncle Fred needs to kick in his $20 every two years because
he has Betsy the milk cow on his one acre premise just like the big boy
and his 15,000 acre ranch and his 2,000 momma cows.
TAHC and its 12 commissioners are trying to force the many small
livestock producers, individual livestock owners and pet owners across
the state to subsidies the few big agribusiness.  It’s not surprising
either.  Out of the twelve TAHC commissioners, three are not associated
with livestock production.
Of the nine that are involved in farm/ranch production, six
commissioners, their families and/or business they are associated with
have receive USDA farm/ranch subsidies. No chump change neither,
hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I guess if your are hooked on farm welfare its a tough habit to kick.
If you find these proposed rules disturbing please contact the
Governor’s office at 800-843-5789, our state representative Robby Cook
979-234-2493 and our state senator Ken Armbrister at 361-572-8061. Ask
them to see to it that house bill HB1361 is repealed.  HB1361 is the
misguided legislation that was passed in 2005 that enables TAHC to
perpetrate this un-American plan.
More information is on the web at
www.texasanimalhealthcommissionwatch.com
Thank you for your consideration

Mike Kelley
Bastrop

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