Half of sites where swine kept near disease were unregistered
(Published Tuesday, May 22, 2007 10:31:40 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By John Hartzell Associated Press
MILWAUKEE - The state's response to a potentially fatal swine disease was hindered last month by farms that failed to register where their animals are kept as required by law, officials say.
"This time it was pseudorabies - serious and fatal in many cases, but not a disease that moves terribly fast or that harms humans, " said Rod Nilsestuen, state agriculture secretary. "What if it had been foot-and-mouth disease? What if it had been the deadly strain of avian influenza? We were lucky - this time."
Wisconsin became the first state in the nation a year and a half ago to require livestock premise registration in an effort to track down animals within 48 hours and help prevent the spread of disease. It still leads the country in the number of sites listed.
But when swine contracted pseudorabies on two Clark County farms in central Wisconsin, the state spent four extra days tracking down unregistered livestock premises within a five-mail radius of the infected farms, said Nilsestuen, secretary of the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Half of the 62 sites in the area were not registered, he said.
"While we did that, the owners of the registered premises waited for us to test their animals so they could get out from under quarantine," Nilsestuen said. "And they wondered why they were losing money when they'd done the right thing."
Many of those who have not registered their premises and received a farm ID number in both the swine and dairy industries are some Amish who cite religious reasons, DATCP spokeswoman Donna Gilson said. Others apparently have not signed up because they believe it is an "insidious" government program, she said.
Danny Meyer of Loyal, whose swine operation of about 3,000 animals was among those quarantined last month, said the delay did not hurt his business much except that he was unable to sell to some 4-H members whose animals were scheduled to be weighed in at that time.
"I'm not angry," he said. "I understand religious freedom and that they have a right to challenge. But if I have to follow the law, they should, too."
Pseudorabies often kills newborn pigs and causes abortion or stillbirth in sows, but usually only causes respiratory symptoms in healthy adult hogs.
The National Animal Identification System said Wisconsin had 57,494 of the 391,884 livestock premises registered nationally as of May 14, more than twice as many as the next three states - Indiana, Pennsylvania and Texas - all of which had 27,000 to 28,000.
The legislation covers cattle, bison, llamas, alpaca, deer, elk, moose, reindeer, horses, donkeys, mules, goats, game birds such as pheasants raised on game farms, chickens, turkeys, domestic geese and ducks, guinea fowl, rheas, ostriches, emu, sheep and fish as well as swine.
Robert Fourdraine, chief operating officer of the Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium, which is spearheading the state law's implementation, said it was not known how many unregistered premises Wisconsin has.
Although commercial livestock operations generally have registered, a number of hobby farms such as those with a couple of cows and a handful of chickens, have not, Fourdraine said.
"They often don't belong to organizations through which they would get the information, and don't sell through a livestock market," he said.
Those who fail to register could be fined $200 to $5,000 for violating animal health law, Gilson said. But no such fines have been sought yet, and any that are would have to be issued by county district attorneys, she said.
The state informed dairy plant operators in February that milk producer licenses would be in jeopardy if producers did not register their premises by May 1.
About 90 percent of the state's 14,000 licensed milk producers had registered the locations by February, but that has since increased to about 95 percent, Gilson said.
The ag department told dairy plant operators late in April that they could continue to pick up milk from licensed producers who had not yet registered their premises while the agency reviewed what steps to take next. In the meantime, Gilson said, the department has not suspended any licenses.
Deer farms, fish farms, and livestock dealers, truckers and markets also have their annual licenses tied to registration, Gilson said, but she said she was not aware of any problems getting them registered.
Many of the livestock premises that are unregistered are believed to be in less populous areas where people may not have heard about the program, Fourdraine said.
"About 300 to 400 people register each month, and our target is to have 60,000 registered by the end of this year," he said.
Summary WHAT'S REQUIRED? Sites where livestock are held in Wisconsin have had to be registered with the state for a year and a half, so officials can act quickly to stop the spread of animal diseases.
WHAT HAPPENED? Half of the locations where swine were held within five miles of two Clark County herds where pseudorabies was found last month were registered. The other half had to be tracked down by officials of the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
HOW DOES WISCONSIN COMPARE? Wisconsin was the first state to require premises registration, and has more premises registered than any other state at 57,494 as of May 14, the latest figures available.
