I think it is RIDICULOUS that MY laying hens would need to be tagged and registered

Nothing in the plans thus far considered by the USDA/NAIS has said anything about tagging and registering your chickens. While it may sometime in the future be required you will have an opportunity to address that issue if and when, if ever, it becomes an issue.

Would you like to try to tag all your fish?

Nothing in the plans thus far considered by the USDA/NAIS has said anything about tagging and registering your fish. While it may sometime in the future be required you will have an opportunity to address that issue if and when, if ever, it becomes an issue.

As of the most recent (March 5) proposal, on which you are free to comment, there has been NO DISCUSSION and NO MENTION of fines or other penalties for inadvertent or accidental wanderings of animals. There in fact has been no proposal for any enforcement procedures or any fines or other penalties for violations of the identification system. As an animal keeper, you are expected to exercise appropriate control of your animals, and the ability of others to identify your animals neither increases nor decreases your burden of being responsible for them.

The enormous costs you forsee for tagging all your chickens simply is not realistic. Currently available cattle tags, including some with RF chips, are on the order of $1 - $2 per tag in small quantities at retail. Leg bands, the most likely marker for birds, should be no more than $.50 each in quantity, depending on how much "recording fee" is rolled into the price. IF YOU HAVE a pet tagged with an implant, you pay for veterinary services and for having the tag registered with a private (for profit) agent who promises to keep track of the person to whom each tag is issued, so the cost is not trivial. Agricultural tags should be quite cheaply applied, possibly without even vet fees IF AND WHEN any requirement for tagging other than commercial food market animals is at some time in the future ever proposed to be made a part of this system.

nor will it be required of the large conglomerate farms that raise and sell their livestock to all the major slaughter houses.

The large conglomerate farms and the major slaughter houses are the principal ones for whom this regulation is intended. It IS REQUIRED - ESPECIALLY FOR THEM. The proposals include methods to permit them to identify "herds" rather than individual animals, subject to rather stringent conditions on the sequestering of groups of animals so treated, but they have no exemption from the regulations. The real question not answered in the proposals is whether, or to what extent this proposed system will apply to anyone other than large conglomerate farms and major slaughter houses.

I agree with your apparent assertion that requirements for non-food-indusry animals are not clear, and suggest you avail yourself of the opportunity to comment and request clarification as indicated in the news release linked above by Ebbie: 25 Mar 06 - 10:42 PM, (More), or that you contact your local/area Ag agent and get some accurate information on what the actual intention of the USDA may be with respect to animals of the kinds you have. Judging from the "information" that seems to be in wide circulation, your Ag agent is probably about as lonesome as the highly advertised Maytag repairman, and would love to hear from you.

John