R-CALF USA has filed suit against USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in federal district court in Casper, Wyoming. In their suit, R-CALF is opposing the mandate set by APHIS for producers to use only radio frequency animal identification tags.
One of the plaintiffs is South Dakota rancher Kenny Fox of Belvidere who’s also R-CALFs animal ID Chairman. He says they’re charging APHIS with going against their own rules and not following the administrative procedures act.
He says one of the major problems with being required to use RFID tags is their cost and other costs associated with them.
Fox says producers should have the option to use whatever tags they wish to use, even the RFID tags if they choose those.
He says the use of other ID tags such as metal ones or brands still provide good traceability.
R-CALFs lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgement and an injunction against Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue and APHIS administrator Kevin Shane who issued the RFID mandate.
