It makes me crazy when people panic every time something -- ANY thing about equine regulation hits the Internet! Your first red flag should be the originator of these chain-reaction poison-pen emails. It is no surprise to see the same name appear time and time again; usually a person who thrives on creating mass hysteria. I was forwarded a message that is now circulating the Internet.  Of course, only the information that supports the negative campaign, is used. The parts that would negate the purposes of the sender are left out.

The email originator has established a "write-your-congressman" campaign to stop the efforts of the Department of Agriculture from requiring the marking of all livestock for the purposes of creating a National database that is capable of tracking down any individual animal of the specified species within a 48-hour time frame. It is an effort to prevent bioterrorism or the accidental spread of infectious diseases, such as mad cow disease, in the United States. In this particular case, the objections are to the Animal Identification Plan (AIP) being implemented. The detractors claim it will be a "big brother" move against, and will create a prohibitive expense for horse owners. The part of the plan regarding equines has yet to be written, so the objections are based on the regulations set forth for the other species. 

The AIP's state goal is:

"Fundamental to controlling any disease threat, foreign or domestic, to the nation’s animal
resources is to have a system that can identify individual animals or groups, the premises where
they are located, and the date of entry to that premises. Further, in order to achieve optimal
success in controlling or eradicating an animal health threat, the ability to retrieve that
information within 48 hours of confirmation of a disease outbreak and to implement intervention
strategies is necessary."

The AIP was established at the behest of the US Department of Agriculture and is facilitated by APHIS. The Plan, as stated in the Executive Summary, is a "work in progress" and calls for a central data bank to register animals that are likely to be marketed and move about the country thereby creating the possibility of the  spread of disease. Horses certainly fit into that definition although horses are not included in the initial phase but relegated to phase II, scheduled for implementation in 2006. The Plan states that identification will include currently used methods which means, in all probability, that the required state brand inspection certificates on horses would be used. Half of my horses already carry microchips, but I don't see that becoming a requirement as it is not a common practice for horses and the chips don't stay put. Marisa's chip had migrated to the bottom of her brisket the last time I had her scanned. Ear tags are certainly not going to work for horses as horse owners would never comply. The worse case that I can see is for a "visible" method of identification to be required which would in all likelyhood mean a return to freeze branding, or maybe not even that. My horses are required to have a state brand inspection certificate which contains a description of the horse, and the AIP states that existing identification methods will most likely be used for horses.

I would think that with the recent Mad Cow disease scare in the Northwest, these new measures would be welcomed by most people, even horse owners. The regulations would obviously not affect diseases vectored by airborne carriers such as birds and mosquitoes, but would be a great help in stopping the spread of other diseases like Anthrax and the influenzas, diseases that have been identified as part of the bioterrorists "kit."  Americans have had to learn to give up a lot of the freedoms we once enjoyed before 9/11.  I don't see this attempt at making our national herds safe as anything more than good husbandry and another necessary step to securing our nation's safety and our way of life.

If you are really concerned about the impact on your personal breeding program, contact USAIP and APHIS and ask them. Let's at least check out the facts first; read the documents, there is always time to panic later.  Links to the  entire document and to a feedback link can be found at http://usaip.info.