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Originally, the NAIS consisted of three elements: (1) premises registration by 2007; (2) animal registration by 2008; and (3) reporting any movement of livestock off a registered premises by 2009. Grassroots opposition has disrupted this schedule. Wisconsin and Indiana have already enacted state laws mandating premises registration, and several other states are considering similar legislation. The Talent-Emerson bills would prohibit federal funding for these programs, and the future of state programs is now in question.

Although the NAIS has been under development since at least 2002, the USDA has never asked for input from the organizations that now lead the opposition - that is, until about a month ago. A meeting is now scheduled for later this month. The USDA has invited some members of the grassroots community, again, in hopes of quieting the opposition.

Livestock owners are not about to be quiet. They absolutely do not want a federal program that requires them to register their premises, tag every livestock animal with an electronic device, and then have to report to the government any time the animal is moved off their premises. No one knows what such a program would cost, but livestock owners know it is they who would have to pay the bill.

The Talent-Emerson bills may not be the silver bullet that kills the NAIS, but it does put the opposition to the program at the table. Many opponents of the NAIS would like the new legislation to go much further in spelling out exactly what the USDA may and may not do, to livestock owners. These bills will undoubtedly undergo revision as they collide with other bills that seek to authorize a mandatory animal identification program.

Such is the stuff of the legislative process. The opponents of the NAIS have exercised their civic responsibility by organizing, and convincing at least, some, of their elected representatives to listen to their ideas. Opponents know, however, that this legislation is simply a first step. The real work is yet to come.

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Henry Lamb is the executive vice president of the Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO), and chairman of Sovereignty International .

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.

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