Here are a few good points that directly effect
you....
If your horse is lost, either at home, or in
another state (say at a ride) local authorities are able to scan your horse and
notify you immediately. (most complanies are happy to list you home and
cell number) Yes, your worries are ended sooner. But, also if you
horse requires medical care you are able to authorize it on the spot, local
authorities do not have the right to make those decisions for you -- even if its
euthanisia.
Auction houses are now required to scan horses and
notify listed owner before going through the sale. Yes, there are
ways of getting around this but this is the first steps of many to curb theft
and instant resale. This is already a huge hassle for auction
houses.
We have plenty diseases within our country.
Odds are the are coggins positive horses living within 50 miles of everyone of
us. (less than 5 miles from me) The chips are also to protect our
horses within our borders.
You are always right to be cautious, and research
every decision. No flames from here! But if you have
nothing to hide, it can only help you.
Although I am seriously considering getting all
of my horses micro-chipped for my own piece of mind, I take great exception
with it becoming a Federal mandate.
To my limited knowledge most of the
"diseases" they are so worried about and are using as an excuse to track every
living creature we own (which would be impossible by the way...just expensive
for us), were brought here from outside the country. Wouldn't it be more
feasible to regulate what is coming "into" the U.S. instead of "out
of"?
Also, since we do not habitually butcher and eat our horses, why
must our horses be micro-chipped? Oh wait! That's right!
Europe and Japan eat horses and we slaughter and ship ours to them.
Well, since there is alot of clamor about closing slaughter houses anyway, why
not discontinue shipping horsemeat out of the country.
If they want to
persist with tracking cattle, I could maybe understand it, from a business
standpoint. However, I see the government tracking our cattle herds
about as well as they do in managing the illegals coming in droves across
borders. I've heard for large cattle, chicken, pig and horse operations,
they would assign one number per herd and it would be the little guys with
small herds who would end up paying for each animal.
So, before
we all bob our heads in agreement and accept this as a good idea, perhaps we
should all investigate what it really means.
Cindy Edwards (putting up
her flame shields as she hits "send now")
