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3-25-2005 |
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STATE AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER FEATURED ON Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass was one of three featured speakers in a national web/teleconference on the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Wednesday, March 16, 2005 . The conference was sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) and was intended to provide state legislators throughout the country with an overview of the program, which eventually will provide a 48-hour traceback of any diseased animal. "The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 and the BSE-positive 'cow that stole Christmas' in 2003 were wakeup calls to state and federal agriculture agencies and to the agricultural community in general," said Commissioner Douglass. "The general public also needs to appreciate that it is the safety of their food supply that is at stake here." When fully implemented, the NAIS will function in much the same way as grocery store checkout scanners. Individual animals will carry a unique tag or other means of identification that can be read electronically and transferred to a computer database quickly and accurately. "When facing an animal disease outbreak of any sort, rapid detection and response is of the utmost importance," said State Veterinarian Joe Starcher. "Animals are constantly moving in commerce throughout this country and, like people, may be carrying a communicable disease with them. Therefore, every other animal they come into contact with becomes a potential vector for spreading the disease." Other speakers on the conference were Neil Hammerschmidt, USDA's NAIS Coordinator and Dr. Robert Fourdraine, animal science and computer expert and chief operating officer of the Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium. The full conference, including audio and accompanying visual presentations has been posted at the NCSL website. It can be downloaded at http://www.ncsl.org/programs/agri/eetwebcast.htm .
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org. |
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