Vilsack sounds death knell for National Animal Identification System
Friday February 05 2010
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sounded the death knell for USDA's controversial National Animal Identification System this morning at the mid-year meeting of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, in Washington, D.C.
Vilsack unveiled a new framework for animal disease traceability at the meeting. "After concluding our listening tour on the National Animal Identification System in 15 cities across the country, receiving thousands of comments from the public and input from states, tribal nations, industry groups, and representatives for small and organic farmers, it is apparent that a new strategy for animal disease traceability is needed," he says in a news release. "I've decided to revise the prior policy and offer a new approach to animal disease traceability with changes that respond directly to the feedback we heard."
