  Version 8.2 |
|
|
|
|
<-- WNest 2.1|
|
Wren's Wrants
& Wramblings
|
Features... News Links Who Is Wren W Nest Logos |
Go to the... |
| Witchvox Chapter: Wren's Nest News | Chapter Page Views: 59,684,701 |
 Court Ruling Says Amish Farmers Exempt From Livestock Registration Rules Author: WSAU Source: WSAU Title: COURT RULING SAYS AMISH FARMERS EXEMPT FROM LIVESTOCK REGISTRATION RULES A central Wisconsin judge says an Amish farmer does not have to register his livestock premise with the state, as required by a five-year-old law. Emanuel Miller Junior of Loyal said the law violates his religious beliefs. And in a ruling yesterday, Clark County Circuit Judge Jon Counsell said the state failed to prove that its need to protect food safety and animal health could not be achieved by adopting something less restrictive. Assistant state veterinarian Paul McGraw expects his agency to appeal the ruling. But for now, it’s a victory for the Amish and other farmers who feared that mandatory premise registration would lead to the individual tagging of all livestock – something they called Satanic and the “mark of the beast.” | |
| Community Thoughts: There are 9 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| A Very Selfish Religous CULT | Mar 13th. at 3:36:27 pm EST |
|
trustyfromthetoolroom (Beecher, Illinois) - Email Me " The Mark of the Beast" my aching backside! This is just a bone headed farmer thumbing his nose at a very practical ruling designed to protect US from small under funded guys like him polluting the food supply! This sort of close mindedness brought about the 'hoof and mouth ' epidemic in England a decade ago. If the Amish want to keep out of modern America let them stay out of the American market place! |
| NAIS May Be Suspended | Mar 11th. at 12:49:20 pm EST |
|
Red Willow (Middlebourne, West Virginia) - Email Me I read an article a few weeks ago that said that NAIS is going to be halted because of budget woes. However some states did make it mandatory (like Wisconsin) . It really just hurts the small farmers and does nothing to really promote food safety. |
| I Just Looked Up | Mar 11th. at 8:27:33 am EST |
|
Grumpy Raven (Eagle, Colorado) - Email Me NAIS rules in Colorado and it said that at this time participation is voluntary - probably because there was such an uproar when they tried to make 4-H kids register their animals. |
| Isn't It Amazing | Mar 11th. at 8:06:16 am EST |
|
Grumpy Raven (Eagle, Colorado) - Email Me how virtually every law they pass to "protect" the public redounds to the benefit of large corporations & makes it more difficult for small farmers to compete? And if the judge found that this law is not effective, maybe Wisconsin should do what Lora said Massachusetts had done. That said, a cow tag is the "Mark of the Beast"? How about freeze brands? Don't the Amish buy standardbreds, replete with chips and/or lip tattoos off the track? Seems a little thin to me. |
| Aaaah, The Amish! | Mar 10th. at 9:04:53 pm EST |
|
Winddragon (anderson, South Carolina) - Email Me I believe in leaving the Amish alone. They take care of themselves and do not have unsanitary practices like the mega butchers. Just the other day, I was in the field mooing with Habbakkuk whilst Ezekiel plowed and we talked about the "Mark of the Beast". He said he'd never accept it on his cows and I told him it wasn't so bad and showed him mine. He told me to leave and take my Bi-lo Bonus card with me. |
| Good. NAIS Is Stupid. | Mar 10th. at 7:07:50 pm EST |
|
Lora (Leominster, Massachusetts) - Email Me This really was a law written to ensure that smallholders would be put out of business--especially the neighborhood family farms that sell direct to consumer, such as the CSAs and Amish- and Mennonite-run businesses that compete with Tyson on the basis of quality and locality rather than on who can afford the biggest ad campaign. Example: Smallholders (and here "small" is defined as "less than several hundred animals") are supposed to register, track, and pay for the chips of each individual animal. Many smallholders keep their animals as their ancestors did, free-range on pasture. Ever try to track the whereabouts of 500 free-range chickens through a meadow of tall grass? What happens if a hawk gets one--you're supposed to go chase down the hawk and ask it pretty please if you can have the chip back? Most states won't let you shoot raptors. If a chipped animal dies, you're supposed to have the vet out to certify cause of death and write you out a certificate. In comparison, the large holdings like Tyson and Cargill are issued what's called a "premises permit" that means they don't have to track ANY individual animals--only shipments. Shipment A of 50,000 cows is put into Feedlot #2048 in the CAFO, where they all stand up to their eyeballs in poop, eating chicken manure (yeah, really) , HFCS and a steady diet of antibiotics and hormones, for about a year, before they become burger. Guys with shotguns occasionally patrol, but most CAFOs are so far from a coyote or fox that the residents would probably mistake one for a stray dog. In any case, even if cow # 20578 dies of Mad Cow Disease, it hasn't been individually tracked, so if they're short a cow it doesn't necessarily get noticed which cow is sick--only that lot #203 is short by 700 lbs. Vets inspect only when there's the appearance of a large outbreak traceable to a particular facility, not on any kind of regular basis, and downer cows still get into the food supply. I am fortunate. The state agricultural agencies actually have a lot of say in how NAIS is implemented, and my state ag agency told the USDA, "We keep hearing how the smallholders get 'special treatment,' so for this one we're going to treat the smallholders the same way we treat the big guys." And they issued every smallholder, including the little old ladies like me who happen to have a small backyard flock, the official "premises permit" so we don't have to track each and every animal. Now when one of my elderly hens succumbs to egg binding, I don't have to spend $300 getting a certificate from a vet for a $5 hen. |
| While I Don't Know The Details ... | Mar 10th. at 3:34:00 pm EST |
|
mpm (Glastonbury, England) - Email Me ... of the system in force in the States, I am familiar with the system here in the UK. We have had an animal tagging and movement system for cattle in force here for decades. Long before computerisation and, even, before all farms and holdings would be expected to have phones. Each holding has a unique code (the herd number) and each animal a tag with both this code and a sequential number. Any movements of stock is to be kept in a herd book that must be kept up to date and be made available for viewing for a number of years. Even without computers it is efficient as a given animal's movements can be traced backwards and forwards at the same time. While I hate government interferrence and unnecessary paperwork, this system has proven invaluable time and again with disease outbreaks and isn't too hard to maintain. |
| Good | Mar 10th. at 2:39:26 pm EST |
|
Murigen (Graham, Washington) - Email Me Tagging livestock does nothing to stop the spread of disease. It's about control. This requirement, that some states have, comes from the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) . This was written by big corps, presented to the USDA who loved it. However, it only puts pressure on the small holder (which includes people only raising for thier on consumption or for show like 4H) , possibly driving them out of business. I'm glad the Amish won their battle, maybe it will help others. |
| What If... | Mar 10th. at 2:20:28 pm EST |
|
Thorin the Skald, aka, Lowell Godfrey (Newaygo, Michigan) - Email Me What if their cows get a disease, and it spreads to other farms? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1997-2010 The Witches' Voice Inc. All rights reserved
Note: Authors & Artists retain the copyright for their work(s) on this website.
Unauthorized reproduction without prior permission is a violation of copyright laws.
Website structure, evolution and php coding by Fritz Jung on a Macintosh G5.
Any and all personal political opinions expressed in the public listing sections (including, but not restricted to, personals, events, groups, shops, Wren’s Nest, etc.) are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinion of The Witches’ Voice, Inc. TWV is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization.
Sponsorship: Visit the Witches' Voice Sponsor Page for info on how you
can help support this Community Resource. Donations ARE Tax Deductible.
The Witches' Voice carries a 501(c)(3) certificate and a Federal Tax ID.
Mail Us: The Witches' Voice Inc., P.O. Box 341018, Tampa, Florida 33694-1018 U.S.A.