Get the facts about animal ID

To the editor:I'd like to take this opportunity to provide your readers with accurate information about U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Animal Identification System. The facts are these:

NAIS is a modern, streamlined information system that will enable producers and animal health officials to respond quickly and effectively to animal health events.

NAIS is a federal-state-industry partnership that consists of three components: premises registration, animal identification and animal tracing.

Participation in NAIS is voluntary at the federal level. Any information circulating to the contrary and inaccurate.

The first step of NAIS -- premises registration -- is free.

USDA has commissioned cost-benefit analyses to determine actual costs of the next steps, animal identification and animal tracing. USDA will protect individual's private and confidential business information provided as part of NAIS from disclosure.

Animal identification is not new. Animals have been identified for decades in the United States through cooperative federal/state programs such as brucellosis in cattle and scrapie in sheep. NAIS would streamline these programs and strengthen our overall disease control efforts.

The threat of an animal disease in the United States is real, and it is important that we be prepared. The registration of premises and identification of animals is a critical tool for safeguarding our nation's herds and flocks from disease. I encourage your readers to get the facts from our Webs site (www.usda.gov/nais) and then make an informed decision regarding participation in NAIS.

Dr. JOHN CLIFFORD, Deputy Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington