Calling it vital to the ability of the United States to keep pace with its international competitors in pork markets around the world, the National Pork Producers Council is urging Congress to restore funding for a national animal identification system.
The Senate Appropriations Committee this week approved a fiscal 2011 agriculture funding bill that stripped out money for the USDA’s voluntary National Animal Identification System. The House Appropriations agriculture subcommittee also "zeroed out" funding the ID system.
NPPC supports a mandatory national ID system for all relevant species and is asking lawmakers to put back into the agriculture appropriations bill funding for the NAIS. President Obama had requested $14.2 million for the program.
NPPC points out that with the rapid expansion of international meat trade and recent disease outbreaks, there is growing interest in animal traceback systems among foreign customers. A number of countries have been moving to implement their own ID programs.
Without a mandatory animal identification system and the ability to trace livestock movements, says NPPC, the U.S. livestock industry will be at a competitive disadvantage in international markets. Additionally, mandatory animal ID systems in foreign markets could become major trade barriers for U.S. pork exports.
Source: Pork Magazine, July 19, 2010