FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Legal Defense Fund Moves to Stop Animal ID Program;
Files Intent to Sue Letter with USDA and Michigan Department of Agriculture

Falls Church, Virginia, (May 15, 2008) -- Attorneys for the Farm-to-Consumer
Legal Defense Fund today sent a Notice of Intent to Sue letter to the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Michigan Department of
Agriculture (MDA) over implementation of the National Animal Identification
System (NAIS), a plan to electronically track every livestock animal in the
country.

The Notice asks the USDA and MDA to "immediately suspend the funding and
implementation of NAIS," and "fully and fairly examine" whether there is even a
need for such a program.

Taaron Meikle, Fund president, said that contrary to USDA's claim, NAIS will do
nothing to protect the health of livestock and poultry. "At a time when food
safety and costs are a concern, the USDA has spent over $118 million to promote
a program that will burden everyone from pleasure horse owners to ranchers and
small farmers to individuals who raise a few chickens or steers on their own
land for their own use."

Once fully implemented, the NAIS program would require every person who owns
even one livestock or poultry animal (a single chicken or a pet pony) to
register their property with the state and federal government, to tag each
animal, and to report "events" to a database within 24 hours. Reportable events
would include such things as a private sale, a state fair, or a horse show.

The Notice charges that USDA has never published rules regarding NAIS, in
violation of the Federal Administrative Procedures Act; has never performed an
Environmental Impact Statement or an Environmental Assessment as required by the
National Environmental Policy Act; is in violation of the Regulatory Flexibility
Act that requires them to analyze proposed rules for their impact on small
entities and local governments; and violates religious freedoms guaranteed by
the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

"We also think there are constitutional issues at stake here," Meikle noted.
"The requirement to use electronic ear tags or RFID chips violates the religious
beliefs of some farmers, such as the Amish, and provisions in a memorandum of
understanding between the USDA and the MDA could violate the Fourth and Fifth
Amendments to the Constitution by requiring the state to stop and inspect
vehicles carrying livestock without a warrant or probable cause."

The MDA has implemented the first two stages of NAIS -property registration and
animal identification - for all cattle and farmers across the state as part of
its mandatory bovine tuberculosis disease control program, which is mandated by
a grant from the USDA.

"While touted as a disease control program, the NAIS will drive many small
farmers out of business" Meikle noted, "and burden every person who owns even
one horse, chicken, cow, goat, sheep, pig, llama, alpaca, or other livestock
animal with expensive and intrusive government regulations."

Joe Golimbieski, a farmer from Standish, Michigan and Fund member, explains:
"The cost of the tags is just the start. We're at the mercy of whatever price
the stockyards charge to do the tagging. And our farm doesn't have extra
employees to deal with paperwork. NAIS is likely to put us out of business."

Gary Cox, General Counsel for the Fund, states that "USDA and MDA have exceeded
their authority and they have completely failed to follow the proper procedures.
We are calling on the agencies to immediately halt implementation of the program
or face appropriate action."


The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund defends the rights of farmers to produce
and sell the products of their farms and gardens directly to consumers, and the
rights of consumers to obtain food directly from farmers engaged in nontoxic,
environmentally friendly agriculture. Concerned citizens can support the Fund by
joining at www.farmtoconsumer.org or by contacting the Fund at 703-208-FARM.
The Fund's sister organization, the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation
(www.farmtoconsumerfoundation.org), works to support farmers engaged in
sustainable farm stewardship and to promote consumer access to local,
nutrient-dense food.

Editor's Note: The Notice of Intent to Sue the (USDA) and (MDA) is available at
www.farmtoconsumer.org

See Also http://www.farmtoconsumerfoundation.org/press_release.php
Contacts:

Taaron G. Meikle
President, Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund and Farm-to-Consumer Foundation
703-537-8372
tgmeikle@...

Brian Cummings
Cummings & Company LLC
214-295-7463
brian@...






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