Privatization of Animal Tracking Moves Forward

    September 16, 2005 -- Last month, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) felt the animal tracking component of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) should be privatized to strengthen the industry-government partnership.
    The American Sheep Industry Association, along with representatives of the other national livestock organizations from each production sector, has been invited to participate in a meeting to initiate the necessary dialog with the industry. The structure and formal relationship between the industry and USDA will be discussed. USDA envisions that a new legal entity representing all sectors of the production industry will be formed to lead the establishment and provide ongoing oversight of a private animal-tracing repository.
    USDA has stated that following the meeting, it will be the responsibility of the industry as a whole to bring together industry leaders to form the legal entity that will develop the plan for the privatization of the proposed animal tracking data repository.
Staff contact: Paul Rodgers, 303-771-3500

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