05/09/05 Government plans for mandatory animal id

The federal government says it wants all cows, pigs and chickens identified by 2009. That's the goal of a national system that would be mandatory for farmers, packers and feedlots. USDA chief veterinarian Ron DeHaven says they'll start with a voluntary program and roll into a mandatory system. DEHAVEN "By April of 2007 we would start putting out alerts to producers that we are soon going to be requiring individual animal id and premises registration with the thought process being that in January of 2008 we would have mandatory premises registration and individual animal identification. And then by January of 2009 we would have a mandatory requirement for animal movements so that we could actually track animals through the system." You'll find the paper on the usda.gov website. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns says their goal is to track down disease outbreaks quickly. JOHANNS "The purpose of publishing the paper in the Federal Register is to insure that it can be widely distributed and to provide a 30 day comment period for all to provide any input, advice and suggestions." Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott