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US group sees private animal ID system by January WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An industry-backed database that could help officials quickly pinpoint suspect cattle during a mad cow disease outbreak could be operational by January 2006, three years ahead of a proposed government system, the largest U.S. cattle group said on Thursday. The Bush administration embraced an animal identification system as a critical part of controlling mad cow disease, but industry questions over privacy and technology have slowed work. The system is a year behind its initial timetable. Last month's discovery of the second U.S. case of the brain-wasting disease has renewed calls for the quick implementation of a trace-back system. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association said the database would enable federal and state animal health officials to track down herdmates of an infected animal within 48 hours of an outbreak. "Many of our domestic and international customers are requesting identification already," said Allen Bright, the project coordinator. "We believe a market-driven solution is quicker and better protected than a bureaucratic, government solution." Incomplete documentation of the infected Texas beef cow hindered USDA efforts to track the animal's herdmates and offspring. Officials had to conduct DNA testing on the 12-year-old animal to obtain vital information. "The commission feels that having an identification program in place by fall of 2005 is essential," Bright said. The group said it could begin testing the database, involving a million livestock producers and tens of millions of animals, by October. Besides cattle, hogs and poultry would be included in the registry. The cattle group opposes a government-backed system because of concerns producers will lose control of information about their animals and operations. "(Our members) did not want us to sit and wait for a government-imposed program that had the very real potential of making confidential information available to a whole host of non-industry parties," said Mike John, the group's president-elect.
http://www.microsite.reuters.com
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