As many of you have read, on February 5, 2010, the USDA announced
that "it will revise the prior animal identification policy and offer a new approach to achieving animal
disease traceability." Articles and postings on the internet immediately proclaimed "NAIS is dead!"
But is it or is it NAIS with a new name?
I have read through about 2000 pages of
documents, public and internal memos, minutes from meetings, etc from the USDA, USAHA (US Animal Health Association), NIAA
(National Institute of Animal Agriculture), the LCI (Livestock Conservation, Inc, predecessor of the NIAA), USAIP (US
Animal Identification Plan - the "original" NAIS that would have been privately maintained) and the American Horse
Council. Many of these documents are not publicly available and were obtained using the Freedom of Information Act (some
with great difficulty). Please read updated information below. ~ Karen Nowak
