Larimer support sought for 4-H premises registration
By Dan MacArthur
North Forty News
State 4-H Director Jeff Goodwin will meet with the Larimer County Commissioners
on July 3 to urge their support in implementing mandatory premises registration
for 4-H programs.
Registration is the first phase of a National Animal Identification System
being implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Its goal is to
identify all animals and premises potentially exposed to a foreign animal
disease within 48 hours of diagnosis.
Goodwin said some counties already require premises registration by 4-H
youth participating in the county fairs. He said registration will be mandated
for all other Colorado counties, including Larimer, in 2008.
A task force of 15 county agents met last fall, Goodwin said, and recommended
premises registration in 2008, even though the USDA deferred compliance
until 2009.
"So that kind of put us in a difficult position." he said.
Still, Goodwin said, he adopted the recommendation because it was the right
thing to do in the interest of animal health. He said there's a real potential
for bioterrorism by introducing diseases such as foot-and-mouth, which
could cripple the economy by disrupting the food production and distribution
system.
Goodwin said premises registration would help prevent outbreaks by identifying
the location of diseased animal and others they've had contact with.
The registration program, however, sparked revolt by what Goodwin characterized
as fringe organizations that contend premises registration constitutes
an invasion of privacy and a perpetual "covenant" on property. Goodwin
flatly dismisses such claims, noting that the registration information
collected is minimal and certainly much less than is available from other
public sources.
Those opponents succeeded in convincing commissioners in some counties
- such as La Plata in southwest Colorado - to pass resolutions of opposition.
Goodwin said he wants to assure the Larimer commissioners that the critics
have no credibility.
"There's not a big groundswell of opposition to this," he maintained. "I
firmly believe 95 percent of the people in the state don't care."
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