Free Republic

Reporting from Camp Hale, Colo. - As soon as Renee Legro saw the sheep, she screamed. The herd, 1,300 strong, has been coming for 30 years to graze in this valley on the backside of the Continental Divide. But as Colorado has become an adventure sports destination, the once-empty valley has filled with hikers, campers and mountain bikers like Legro, and she was about to tragically embody the collision of the old West with the new. Legro, 33, screamed because she knew what came with the herd -- guard dogs. Shortly after she rolled down a hill and came upon...

SAN LUIS, Colo.—A creepy string of calf mutilations in southern Colorado has a rancher and sheriff's officials mystified. Four calves were found dead in a pasture just north of the New Mexico state line in recent weeks. The dead calves had their skins peeled back and organs cleared from the rib cage. One calf had its tongue removed. But rancher Manuel Sanchez has found no signs of human attackers, such as footprints or ATV tracks. And there are no signs of an animal attack by a coyote or mountain lion. Usually predators leave pools of blood or drag marks from...

Iraqi veterinarians inspect recently-acquired medical supplies at the Kirkuk Agricultural Department, Nov. 17. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, distributed the medical supplies, including antibiotics and vaccinations, to Iraqi veterinarians from around Kirkuk province. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Douglas, 1st Cavalry Division. KIRKUK — In an effort to improve veterinary services and increase agricultural production, U.S. Soldiers distributed medical supplies to Iraqi veterinarians here, Nov. 17. Agriculture, agribusiness and related industries comprise the majority of the economic activity in this province, according to the Kirkuk Provincial Reconstruction Team. Northern Iraq relies heavily on the success of its...

Livestock and Climate Change: What if the key actors in climate change are...cows, pigs, and chickens? The environmental impact of the lifecycle and supply chain of animals raised for food has been vastly underestimated, and in fact accounts for at least half of all human-caused greenhouse gases (GHGs), according to Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, co-authors of "Livestock and Climate Change". A widely cited 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock's Long Shadow, estimates that 18 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions are attributable to cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, pigs, and poultry. But recent analysis...

U.S. Department of Agriculture officials shot and killed two wolves today that were linked to five attacks on livestock in the Keating Valley area of Baker County. The wolves were shot after nonlethal efforts failed to keep them from killing livestock again. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife then authorized Agriculture's Wildlife Services to kill the animals, one of which was wearing a tracking collar, from a fixed-wing aircraft. "It's unfortunate that we got to this step," Russ Morgan, wolf coordinator for Fish and Wildlife, said in a news release, "but these wolves continued to kill livestock despite our...

A federal judge has sided with managers of northern Wyoming's Bighorn National Forest and against an environmental group that challenged livestock grazing in the forest. Boise-based Western Watersheds Project filed suit over a 2005 revision to the forest management plan... U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer ruled Monday that forest managers did as the law required -- they took a "hard look" at the environmental consequences of the forest plan.

I don't need a calendar to know it's summer. I know it's summer time when newspapers and blogs worldwide start discussing, analyzing and criticizing Korea's history and ongoing medicinal consumption of boshintang (dog meat soup). A blogger for the LA Times newspaper posted a blog about the ongoing debate in South Korea over the consumption of dog meat. Members of a South Korean animal rights group called Coexistence for Animal Rights on Earth along with an American animal rights group called In Defense of Animals (IDA), sponsored a protest asking the South Korean government to make the killing of dogs...

There were lots of plausible presences at the La Vista Embassy Suites to oppose what many see as the worst livestock impacts of the federal government’s National Animal Identification System. The skeptical manager of the Bassett Livestock Auction, the indignant rancher from Valentine, the long-suffering hog producer from Minnesota — all seemed to have an obvious place in June 30 proceedings aimed at overhauling the program’s most objectionable features. Chris Bambery of Lincoln, proud owner of two chickens on Sumner Street and promoter of what he describes as “backyard chicken PowerPoint presentations,” didn’t blend in as easily. But it turns...

PORTLAND, Ore. – Washington County's "Bunny Lady" is back in the hutch after violating a court order banning her from owning animals for five years. Miriam Sakewitz, 47, was arrested Tuesday at a hotel in the Portland suburb of Tigard after an employee reported finding rabbits hopping around in her room. Problems for Sakewitz started in October 2006 when police in Hillsboro, about 15 miles west of Portland, found and confiscated nearly 250 rabbits in her home, including about 100 dead ones in freezers and refrigerators.

FREEHOLD, N.J. — A New Jersey man who abandoned his family's pet rabbit in the woods behind his home was barred from owning animals for five years. Jong Park was also fined $500 after he pleaded guilty to an animal cruelty charge in Marlboro Township Municipal Court Wednesday. Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Police Chief Victor Amato filed charges after Park admitted releasing the 1-year-old bunny named Hope because she had outgrown her cage.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bill that would ban the nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in animals would hurt the health of livestock and poultry while compromising efforts to protect the safety of the country's food supply, the leader of the largest U.S. farm group said on Tuesday. Bob Stallman, president of the 6 million-member American Farm Bureau Federation, said in a letter to Congress that its members "carefully, judiciously and according to label instructions" use antibiotics to treat, prevent and control disease in animals. "Antibiotic use in animals does not pose a serious public health threat," said Stallman, who urged lawmakers...

Dogs do in chickens at center of Worthington controversy Tuesday, Dean Narciso 3:21 PM By Dean Narciso THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Lael Weyenberg stands outside the chicken coop in her backyard in Worthington. Chris Russell | Dispatch Lael Weyenberg stands outside the chicken coop in her backyard in Worthington. Hillary, Veronica and Cindi are dead. The backyard chickens -- the subjects of a neighborhood pecking match that spilled over into a packed Worthington City Council debate last month -- fell prey to two loose dogs on Sunday, police said. Lael Weyenberg and her husband, Andrew Rozmiarek, returned from a friend's house...

Starving Piglets Fed to Zimbabwean Crocodiles, Weekblad Says Per FR Policy, no posting of Bloomberg. The Bloomberg article cites another newspaper for the story. It says Zimbabwean farmers have no food for their livestock and one farmer fed 700 piglets to crocodiles and 250 breeding sows, so they wouldn't starve to death.

If you picked up a carton of eggs at the store this week, they probably set you back about $1 or $1.50. The organic, cage-free kind costs more like $3. But some urban and suburbanites are skipping the store entirely when it comes to things like eggs and honey and turning instead to their own backyards. Whether from tighter food budgets or local-eating ideals, more and more people are petitioning their cities to allow small animal husbandry.

First it was California city slickers escaping to the Mountain West, finding to their shock and horror that livestock lived there, and then demanding the offensive creatures be banned. Now comes the EPA of President George Bush, Republican of Texas, with their plan to tax cow and hog farts. Sounds funny, but it could run some ranchers out of business. It also reminded me of that famous anonymous Tax Poem.The Tax Poem Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table At which he’s fed. Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him taxes Are the rule. Tax his work,...

RENO, Nev., Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Authorities in Nevada say an increasing number of domestic horses are being abandoned by their owners because of the worsening economy. The horses are being turned loose to fend for themselves, but lack of survival skills and often end up being killed by predators, hit by cars or dying of starvation, said Darrell Peterson, a brand inspector for the Nevada Department of Agriculture. Abandoned domestic horses have little chance of being adopted by wild bands of horses and often are attacked by them, said Peterson, noting he has picked up six domestic horses in...

Who said sheep are just followers, never making their own way in this big, bold world. Check out this story about Nick Boing, the sheep that rules his owner’s home. (The animal, named Nick Boing, has a purpose-built bungalow in the back garden, but prefers to spend his evenings watching television in the family home.

<p>When we think of Wisconsin, we think of it as the nation's Heartland -- a placid place where you can park your car anywhere and leave it unlocked, with the key in the ignition, knowing that no matter how long you're gone, when you return your car will be covered with cheese.</p>

Killer ravens attack livestock By Bonnie Malkin Last Updated: 8:34PM BST 04/05/2008 Deadly attacks by large groups of ravens on young livestock are on the increase, farmers have warned. Lambs, calves and sheep are being targeted across Britain, but especially in Scotland and Wales. The ravens flock together to attack their victims in scenes which some describe as reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film The Birds. Even if the animals survive the attacks, they are left in excruciating pain. Ravens, which almost became extinct in Britain during the 19th century, are a protected species, but the rise in the number...

Tough Breeds Of Livestock Disappearing: Saving Them Before It Is Too LateDr. Phil Sponenberg with a Spanish-style Choctaw horse. (Credit: John McCormick, Virginia Tech) ScienceDaily (Feb. 17, 2008) — Phil Sponenberg, professor of pathology and genetics in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, has spent more than 30 years working to make sure certain living pieces of history — some dating to the 15th century — don’t become extinct. Sponenberg's brand of living history comes in the form of various rare strains of livestock, which were involved in events like Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the Caribbean Islands and the...

A SEA change in the consumption of a resource that Americans take for granted may be in store — something cheap, plentiful, widely enjoyed and a part of daily life. And it isn’t oil. It’s meat. snip To put the energy-using demand of meat production into easy-to-understand terms, Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan — a Camry, say —...

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - A Swedish university has received 3.8 million kronor ($590,000) in research funds to measure the greenhouse gases released when cows belch. About 20 cows will participate in the project run by the Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, about 40 miles north of Stockholm, officials said Monday. Cattle release methane, a greenhouse gas believed to contribute to global warming, when they digest their food. Researchers believe the level of methane released depends on the type of food the eat. Project leader Jan Bertilsson said that the cows involved in the study will have different diets and...

A federal database of animals to fight disease outbreaks is a threat to privacy and family operations, critics say. WASHINGTON — After days of parading around her beefy black steer in the dung-scented August heat at the Colorado State Fair, Brandi Calderwood made the final competition. For months, the 16-year-old worked from dawn well past dusk, fitting in the work around school, to feed, train and clean her steer. But just before the last round, when the animals are sold, fair officials disqualified her. They alleged that Brandi had not properly followed a new and controversial rule that required children...

Sex offenders are required to register their premises and report to the government when they move. Similarly, the USDA is implementing a so-called "voluntary" program that requires owners of livestock animals to register their premises and report to the government when any animal is moved off the premises.

The world’s livestock production has become dangerously over-reliant on just a few high-yielding breeds, causing the loss of many hardier breeds more suited to poor countries, according to a report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. In its first survey of the world’s animal genetic resources, the FAO says 20 per cent of the more than 7,600 breeds of farm animals and poultry it has identified are at risk of extinction. Almost one breed has been lost every month over the past six years. Carlos Seré, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), a publicly funded...

Boise, Idaho (AP) -- A judge on Friday blocked new rules governing how ranchers use 160 million acres of federal land, saying a federal agency had given in to pressure from the livestock industry. The Bureau of Land Management violated the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act in creating the rules, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled. The judge said the BLM's rule revisions would have loosened restrictions on grazing on public land nationwide, limited the amount of public comment the BLM had to consider and diluted the BLM's...

ELDERON, Wis. --Around here, it may be tough to pass up anything deep-fried. Wisconsinites have deep-fried cheese curds, candy bars and Twinkies. They now have deep-fried livestock testicles, too. More than 300 people paid $5 for all-you-can-eat goat, lamb and bull testicles Saturday at the ninth annual Testicle Festival at Mama's Place Bar and Grill in Elderon in central Wisconsin.

Those familiar with the political scene know the unexpected is often expected, and March 2 was an example of that when opponents to the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) marched to the state Capitol in Austin. The event included people from all over Texas, either walking or riding one of the many horses, tractors, or flat-bed trailers. The march included a woman with a caged chicken on the head, children enjoying the excitement, and plenty of signs that ranged from “Don’t Tag Texas” to “Think green ... not pavement.” One person in the parade was NAIS...

CALCUTTA, India - When his chickens started disappearing a few weeks ago, a farmer in eastern India figured dogs or jackals were to blame — until he discovered his calf making a meal of his poultry.

Bovine bombardment is part of the most recent plan to thwart Texas legislators’ plan to implement a federally mandated animal identification system. Protesters plan to tell state government officials, “Don’t Tag Texas,” March 2. Farmers and ranchers will turnout in numbers at the state capitol that Friday, livestock in tow, to declare their discontent concerning the newly proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS), as well as the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC). A media release from the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, said the protest is motivated by individual freedoms, which they fear could get trampled along the way. “Freedom-loving Texans planned...

Cloneburgers, anyone? Farmer can’t wait Facing eviction, dairyman considers breaking ban on cloned meat Updated: 7:21 p.m. ET Dec 19, 2006 WILLIAMSPORT, Md. - For nearly four years, dairy farmer Greg Wiles has poured milk from his cloned cows down the drain in compliance with a voluntary ban on food from cloned livestock. Now in financial straits, Wiles says he may be forced to sell his cloned cows for hamburger. The Food and Drug Administration says that’s probably safe, but pressure from the food industry has kept the agency from actually approving it. Milk and meat marketers worry that consumers...

Based on reading the USDA’s draft proposal for the National Animal Identification System some people are wondering how the USDA is going to tag all the wild animals that fall within the working species groups that must be tracked. The USDA says we don’t have to tag the wild animals. That is good to know... It is the year 2009, February 22nd, the birthday of General George Washington. Today it is a bit windy and the cold is biting here on the eastern slope of Sugar Mountain in northern Vermont. The USDA shows up at my doorstep demanding to know...

Mandatory Premises ID registration and the USDA's proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS) are dead in Vermont! See this article for more details: http://nonais.org/index.php/2006/08/18/vt-premises-id-killed/ In a nutshell, which is where these programs belongs, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture (AoA) has finally heard the enormous protest against the program and said they are letting the proposal for mandatory Premises ID expire and will not share information with the feds thus killing NAIS at the same time. "Secretary of Agriculture Steve Kerr told a crowd of nearly 100 at a Montpelier hearing Thursday that the agency would let its proposed rule that...

Mandatory Premises ID registration and the USDA's proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS) are dead in Vermont! See this article for more details: http://nonais.org/index.php/2006/08/18/vt-premises-id-killed/ In a nutshell, which is where these programs belongs, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture (AoA) has finally heard the enormous protest against the program and said they are letting the proposal for mandatory Premises ID expire and will not share information with the feds thus killing NAIS at the same time. Secretary of Agriculture Steve Kerr told a crowd of nearly 100 at a Montpelier hearing Thursday that the agency would let its proposed rule that...

She didn't kill anyone. She didn't rob a bank. In fact, she didn't commit any illegal act. It's what she didn't do that made her an outlaw. We'll call her "Sally" – so the jackboots can't track her down. Sally got up on the morning of Jan. 2 and went about her daily chores – fixing breakfast, feeding the animals and cleaning the house. Aside from the cold, and the new year, everything was pretty much as it had been everyday for many years. But today, Sally became an outlaw without even knowing it. Way back in 2003, the Wisconsin...

[This is a beautiful example of how our government loves to spin the truth and hide their lies. My comments are in bracketed italics. Thank you to Carol for sending this to me so I would have the chance to address this issue. -WalterJ] This was sent to a horse Group I am a member of and from which I receive a news letter. This was sent in the newsletter I received this week - Hey fellow Texans - open wide - they are trying to shove the brussels sprouts down disguised as ice cream. Don't know about y'all, but...

While the USDA foists the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) on American consumers, farmers and livestock* the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing importing chickens from China. Yes, that's right. Is that crazy enough? They want to tag and track all animals in the USA to prevent disease' and then import poultry from China where Avian Bird Flu (H5N1) has been killing millions of birds as well as some people. Wait a minute?!? Wasn't one of the justifications for NAIS to stop the spread of Avian Bird Flu??? Not only that, but the USDA wants to ship poultry to...

The government is extending NAIS and similar regulations to household pets. Pets are already included in the form of horses, pot bellied pigs, llamas, fish and pet livestock. Some states are expanding the definition beyond the USDA's original list to include dogs, cats and caged pet birds. NY Bill A09775 applies to cats & dogs. PA SB865 applies to any domestic animals. MD HB709) applies to any domestic birds. Read more in this article. RI seeks to spay and neuter all cats. Los Angeles seeks to spay and neuter all dogs. You can bet good money that within a few...

Before it was terrorism. Then it was mad cow disease. Now the government is using fears of Avian Influenza (H5N1 or bird flu) to scare people into accepting reductions in their freedoms and more government control over our lives. The latest trampling of our constitutional rights is in the form of Premise ID and the USDA's proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS). Maryland has bill HB709 to register all domestic birds including pet birds. Vermont is pushing Premise ID for bird flu prevention. ABC plans to do a TV movie about Avian Flu. Everyone wants in on the fear mongering....

Today the Vermont House Agriculture Committee met with USDA represenative Dr. John Wiemers by telephone regarding the USDA's proposed draft of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). I greatly appreciate the questions raised by the Committee members to the USDA representative Dr. Wiemers this morning. They clearly pointed out the double-speak of the USDA which is being very slippery about this and other issues related to NAIS and Premise ID. The USDA is trying to reassure people out of one mouth while their other mouth, and written word, says something very different. The April 2006 USDA documents make the program...

McDonald's Greed I recently read the rather interesting article "McDonald's exec: BSE testing adequate, ID needed" with interest. A market driven program is the way NAIS should be done. If you wish to sell a product you must produce it to the buyers specifications. Unless you have a virtual monopoly like Microsoft but that is a different issue. “We feel very strongly about animal ID. From our expectations (of NAIS), yesterday would have been a better timeline” to implement the mandatory ID system." -McDonald’s Corp. spokesman Robert Cannell The confusion is that the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) should NOT...

The House of Representatives recently passed funding for a new federal mandate that threatens to put thousands of small farmers and ranchers out of business. The National Animal Identification System, known as NAIS, is an expensive and unnecessary federal program that requires owners of livestock– cattle, dairy, poultry, and even horses– to tag animals with electronic tracking devices. The intrusive monitoring system amounts to nothing more than a tax on livestock owners, allowing the federal government access to detailed information about their private property. In typical Washington-speak, NAIS is “voluntary”—provided USDA bureaucrats are satisfied with the level of cooperation. Trust...

One of the pleasures of having a vibrant local press is the colorful stories about the community that get missed when focusing on the national and international news. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports today on an agricultural fraternity at the University of Minnesota that has been suspended and may be disbanded for violating the university's ban on hazing. The FarmHouse Fraternity apparently has pushed the Midwestern envelope a little too far -- say, all the way to San Francisco: Hazing by the suspended FarmHouse Fraternity at the University of Minnesota included hitting members on their backside with a leather...

Yesterday I got a reply from Senator Leahy. It is aways hard to tell with him if it is just a canned response, a form letter or perhaps a real live personal letter. I did note a change in attitude, a little softening of his previously hard stance supporting the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). This is important as our dear Senator Leahy from Vermont, along with Arlen Spector of PA, was one of the the enabling supporters of legislation what allowed the USDA to create the monster of NAIS. Below is my letter replying to Senator Leahy followed by...

A group of university researchers said today that they had created what sounds like a nutritional holy grail: cloned pigs that make their own omega-3 fatty acids, potentially leading to bacon and pork chops that might help your heart. For now, the benefits of the research are highly theoretical. Omega-3 fatty acids, which have been linked to a lowered incidence of heart disease, are primarily found in fish. No one knows whether they would have the same effect if people ate them in pork instead. And government approval for such genetically modified foods is certain to face opposition from consumer...

BURLEY -- The enormity of tagging and electronically tracking every animal in the United States hit home to livestock owner and 4-H Club leader Maria Brown recently when her Cassia County extension office informed her that 4-H steers in the county would be required to have radio frequency identification/electronic identification (RFID/EID) tags this year. Another surprise, she said, was when the extension office asked if she had registered her "premises" (farm,ranch,acreage) with the state. Brown's experience is what farm animal and poultry owners across the nation can come to expect in the next few years as the U.S. Department of...

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The integrity and competence of the U.S. Department of Agriculture were called into question Thursday by U.S. senators concerned with the USDA's failure for several years to investigate anti-competitive cases in the livestock and meat packing sectors. "It is totally unacceptable of our government to conduct business in this way," Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., said at a Thursday hearing. He threatened to call USDA officials back up to Capitol Hill again if improvements aren't made. The Senate committee called the Thursday hearing to demand answers from the USDA over a recent Inspector General report charging...

What is NAIS? NAIS is the USDA's National Animal Identification System Draft Strategic Plan to let the government track the births, deaths, co-mingling and all movements of all livestock in the United States. http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/about/pdf/NAIS_Draft_Strategic_Plan_42505.pdf Which animals are covered? Currently horses, cattle, goats, poultry, sheep, swine, alpacas, llamas, bison, deer and elk. NAIS is not limited to these animals and may also be extended to include dogs, rabbits & other animals. See documents at: http://nonais.org/index.php/2006/02/18/ Who must participate? Anyone with one or more of the covered animals will be required to register their home or business for a 7-digit Premises Identification...

You’ve always got to be on your toes these days to keep the government from making a grab for ever more power over our personal lives. And very often the power grab goes hand-in-hand with a deal the government has made with big business. They always claim it’s about protecting “us.” Ha, Ha! What a joke! The latest grab for power in order to protect “us” is called the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). It’s a system proposed by agribusiness and embraced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to track livestock in this country. It’s supposed to help...

Wisconsin has served as a model for the first step in developing a national livestock identification system. Now it's time for the state to set an example on step two. That will require Wisconsin farmers to voluntarily participate in identification plans and to reject misdirected concerns that livestock identification is a Big Brother invasion of a farmer's liberty. At stake is not farmers' freedoms but rather the ability to track and contain bird flu, mad-cow and other farm animal diseases. Also at stake is public health and Wisconsin's competitiveness in the global economy. Wisconsin was the first state to require...