| Wednesday, December 17, 2008 |
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USDA Motions to Dismiss Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund Suit
By Monica @ 5:52 PM   
The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund has filed a suit with the U.S. District Court – District of Columbia requesting an injunction to stop the implementation of NAIS by states or the feds. If successful, the suit would halt the program nationwide. (Yes!)
Despite the fact that the USDA has said that NAIS is a voluntary program, there are various mandatory implementations in a few states, namely Wisconsin, Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Colorado. Unsurprisingly, the USDA has now filed a motion to dismiss the suit:
Motions filed by the U.S. and Michigan Departments of Agriculture seeking to dismiss the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund suit to stop the implementation of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), incorrectly claim that NAIS is a voluntary program.
“Even as the agencies try to deny the clear facts of what they have done in Michigan, the USDA recently issued a memo that confirms what the Fund has stated in its lawsuit: NAIS is not voluntary,” said Pete Kennedy, interim president of the Fund.
Kennedy cited Veterinary Services Memorandum No. 575.19 addressed to USDA's "Veterinary Services Management Team" that requires NAIS premises registration for various disease program activities.
“The memo includes activities such as vaccinations, testing, and applying official ear tags for programs for every livestock species, ranging from brucellosis to scrapies to equine infectious anemia,” Kennedy noted. “One of the most important aspects of this memo is that people who refuse to have their farms registered will be registered against their will. Thus, USDA has officially abandoned the supposed ‘voluntary’ nature of NAIS.”
Oh, but that's typical of so many "voluntary" government programs that then become mandatory or expanded beyond belief. Hopefully the FTCLDF will make a strong response, and I'm very glad to see them taking the offensive position on this. Too often, as in the Faillace family's case, the courts simply defer to the USDA. We need to reign in these rogue agencies. Ultimately, the USDA needs to be completely dismantled.Labels: Government Idiocy, NAIS
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