BSE Class Action Lawsuit "Opt Out"

[Kathy]

The Federal Government can easily get out of any guilt in court regarding the spread of BSE in feed. This is theory, not fact. The "infectious" agent has not been found. Stanley Prusiner's Factor X is still hidden from public view. And they have their $250,000 BSE Risk Assessment that states no such infectious agent was ever found in Canadian feedstuff.

I suggest that you look at the www.bseclassaction.ca website and read some of the arguements by the Crown. They have stated that they have already paid more than their fair share via compensation packages and CAIS funding. They also claim that each individual suffered differently from the situation, and that lumping all producers together under one class action suit denegrates our individual damages and suffering.

If they fight, they'll win. If they don't fight, but settle instead, they win. The settlement will most likely take into consideration the payments already received by producers. How much will this leave to distribute to the thousands of producers that make a claim?

And should the Government decide to fight, and wins their arguement, will we be faced (as producers) with a bill for their court costs? I don't know the answer to this question (I don't really need to - we're opting out). For those sticking to the class action suit.... you might want to know this.

A resolution passed at one of our ABP zone meetings, was to have ABP determine what legislation grants the class action lawsuit to include ALL producers without our knowledge or consent; and once ABP learns the answer - to publish the information in one of their publications to producers.

[Kathy]

Emergency NAIS resolution passed by the Nevada Cattlemen's Association.

November 21, 2008

www.nevadacattlemen.org

775 738-9214

Nevada Cattlemen’s Association

A Resolution calling for a law by the State Legislature to Prohibit NAIS in Nevada


WHEREAS the United States Department of Agriculture has violated its promise to maintain a voluntary status for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) at both the federal and state levels, and

WHEREAS NAIS has not been debated or adopted by the members Congress, and presented to the President for signature, but rather is being implemented solely through USDA rules, regulations, and funding under statutes adopted and previously implemented without NAIS, and

WHEREAS the implementation of NAIS has not been subject to the requirements of NEPA to prevent the cost prohibitive impact on the small producer and the negative impact on the custom, culture, and economic stability of communities in Nevada, and

WHEREAS NAIS has no demonstrated value for disease control, which is already well served by existing state brand laws and veterinarian services, and its benefits are solely to the USDA for control of private property, to mega-agribusiness, and to the manufacturers of equipment for the implementation of NAIS, and

WHEREAS combining mandatory state programs with NAIS premises registration is in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated”, and

WHEREAS the USDA has implemented policies that compel accredited veterinarians, at the risk of losing their state licenses, to register premises that are not voluntarily registered, and

WHEREAS combining mandatory state programs with NAIS violates the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments which guarantee that neither the federal government or any State “shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”, and

WHEREAS NAIS has usurped states’ rights by violating the Tenth Amendment which states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the U.S. Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”, and

WHEREAS the USDA has established rules and regulations for the levying of excessive fines, from $50,000 to $500,000, a violation of the Fifth and Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and enforcement of said rules and regulations through its Enforcement and Investigative Services (EIS), and

WHEREAS a cost benefit analysis at any level of government has not been provided for the funding of NAIS, however the USDA continues its pattern of violating Constitutional rights by pursuing critical mass to justify its objectives, and

Whereas the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association currently supports a voluntary premise registration system and voluntary NAIS, and

Whereas many Nevada producers currently voluntarily use their Nevada Premise number as part of an age and source verification program, and

Whereas several states are requiring mandatory premise registration along with NAIS for some livestock events,

Therefore Be It Resolved Nevada Cattlemen’s Association and Nevada Woolgrowers Association is opposed to an explicit or a de facto mandatory NAIS.

Therefore Be it Further Resolved Nevada Cattlemen’s Association and Nevada Woolgrowers Association is opposed to any implementation of NAIS which violates the U.S. Constitution or diminishes the rights reserved to the States there in.[end]

Well done Nevada ranchers!! God Bless.