Johanns Announces ID System Components

   September 2, 2005 -- On Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced the Department of Agriculture's guiding principles for the development of a public/private partnership that enables the private sector to maintain animal-movement data as part of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).
   USDA's four guiding principles for the NAIS are as follows:

• The system must be able to allow tracking of animals from point-of-origin to processing within 48 hours. 
• The system's architecture must be developed without unduly increasing the size and role of government.
• The system must be flexible enough to utilize existing technologies and incorporate new identification technologies as they are developed.
• Animal movement data should be maintained in a private system that can be readily accessed when necessary by state and federal animal-health authorities.

   USDA solicited public input on NAIS through a variety of means. Public response indicates there is widespread support for a system to rapidly trace potentially exposed animals in the event of an animal-disease outbreak. A majority of producers who responded also favored a system that allows the animal-movement data to be privately held.
   USDA officials will be scheduling a stakeholder meeting this fall to clarify expectations for the private tracking system and discuss user requirements and system specifications.

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