Animal ID program criticized
US - Sharon Zecchinelli raises a couple of pigs, lambs, turkeys and two dozen chickens in her backyard.
5 December 2006
2 minute read
The 50-year-old chef-turned-farmer says she knows more about her animals' health than she knows about her children's.
To her, a federal government plan to require farmers and ranchers to register their animals in a national database goes too far. And she remains skeptical about it, despite a recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that participation in the National Animal Identification System will be voluntary, not mandatory as originally contemplated.
"I raise animals for my own use. NAIS, or a program like that, would be good for the factory farms, which is where the food is being spoiled ... We know our animals and we know their health," said Zecchinelli.
Source: Sun Journal
