MEMORANDUM To: AHC Organizational Members From: American Horse Council Re: Federal Legislation on Animal Identification Date: May 18, 2007 | |||
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Two bills have been introduced this Congress dealing with Animal ID. The
Livestock Identification and Marketing Opportunities Act calls for the
establishment of a national identification system for livestock (that does
not include horses). The other bill prohibits the institution of a
mandatory animal identification system. Livestock Identification and Marketing Opportunities (LIMO) Act (H.R. 2301) Representative Steve King (R-IA) introduced The Livestock Identification and Marketing Opportunities (LIMO) Act (H.R. 2301) in May 2007. H.R. 2301 is identical to a bill introduced by Representative King in the 109th Congress. The bill calls for the implementation of such a national livestock identification system by 2009. Horses Not Included Participation in the system called for by this bill would be mandatory for “livestock,” which is defined to mean “cattle, swine, sheep, goats and poultry,” but does not include not horses. Nonetheless, owners/producers of other livestock, such as horses, could participate in the system, but it would be voluntary. Livestock Identification Board to be Established This legislation would establish a private Livestock Identification Board (Board) to develop and maintain the livestock identification system. The system would be producer-controlled and run by stakeholders in the livestock industries involved. This Livestock Identification Board would consist of seven voting members appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture in consultation with the Chair and ranking minority member of the relevant congressional committees, presumably the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. The voting members of the Board would be one representative from each of the cattle, swine, sheep and goat industries, poultry producers, livestock market operators, meat processors and one at-large member. Non-voting representatives on the Board would be from the USDA and State or tribal agriculture agencies. This Board would have to make periodic reports to the Secretary and the congressional committees with oversight authority. Under the bill, the livestock identification system must be capable of tracing all livestock “from the time of first movement … from its original premise to the time of slaughter… in less than 48 hours.” It must also be able to track all relevant information about the livestock, including its identification number, the date the number was assigned, the premise identification number, the species, date of birth, sex and any other information the Board considers appropriate. The Board would also be required to maintain the identification system in a centralized data system and determine the official identification technology to be used to track animals. Within nine months after enactment, the bill requires the Secretary to establish a premise identification system for all premises in the U.S. Premise is defined as “a location that holds, manages, or boards animals. [Note: It is not clear whether “animal” includes horses and whether locations that hold horses are premises but presumably they are because of state requirements.] Information required includes the premise identification number, the entity that owns or controls the premise, contact information, the type of operation and the date the premise number was assigned. Confidentiality Required In addition, under the King bill, livestock and premises information collected for the system will be exempted by law from the Freedom of Information Act. It also imposes other restrictions on the release of information, primarily limiting its release only in the case of a disease threat and only to those involved in handling such a threat. Enforcement Enforcement lies with the USDA, but there are no provisions for civil or criminal penalties. If the Secretary finds an animal is not identified he/she could require identification prior to its being moved. If an owner of livestock not covered by the legislation, such as horses, voluntarily subjects his animal to the identification system, he still would not be subject to USDA enforcement. The bill authorizes $33 million to be appropriated for each of the three fiscal years following the fiscal year that the law is enacted for implementation of the identification system. Prohibition on Mandatory Animal Identification Program (H.R. 1018) Representative Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) has introduced legislation that would amend the Animal Health Protection Act to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture from implementing a National Animal Identification System, or using federal funds to implement a system, that mandates participation of livestock owners. It would also require the Secretary to protect any information received in a voluntary system and to limit its release to officials who might need it to protect human and animal health. Representative Emerson also introduced an identical bill in the previous Congress. Please call the American Horse Council with any questions. |
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Washington
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