Posted 1/20/2024 17:23 (#10584614 - in reply to #10583454) Subject: RE: Well just as stir the pot, mandatory animal I D.
In Canada we've had mandatory EID tags for probably 20 years or so. Cattle are supposed to be tagged before being transported from their birth place. That is a minor irritation but now the government is proposing movement reporting where the tag numbers of individual cattle need to be read and recorded when transported. I don't understand how that could be accomplished without severe disruptions to commerce. I know in our operation the tags are NEVER scanned and I'm not sure that they are ever scanned down the line. I had a stick reader at the chute years ago and every time we were processing it would malfunction so we gave up on it.
Besides the practical issues of producing and maintaining endless RFID data bases I really question the whole concept of treating commercial cattle as individuals. The majority of calves born live a fairly comfortable, uninteresting life and are dead before their second birthday. The details of their individual lives are not important enough to warrant the expense of collecting them. As for breeding stock I think the owners are the best source of information.
Well just as stir the pot, mandatory animal I D.
