permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

[Attn: Bob Waldrop. Will Oklahoma be next along with all other states?
Anyway, a heads up.]

Natural Health News and Wellness Tips: Is NC Requiring Barcodes for
Backyard Chicken Owners?
http://www.naturalblaze.com/2015/07/is-nc-requiring-barcodes-for-backyard.html?m=1
Is NC Requiring Barcodes for Backyard Chicken Owners?
  By Heather Callaghan
<http://www.naturalblaze.com/search/label/Heather-Callaghan>

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is using
the Midwestern poultry avian flu outbreak as an opportunity to decree new
requirements for chicken farmers. These newly released rules - in case of a
potential event - have prompted small family farms, and backyard chicken
owners to wonder how cozy the Ag Commission wants to be - and what happens
if a quarantine is declared.

9 WNCT News reports
<http://wnct.com/2015/07/22/new-requirements-for-nc-farmers-after-bird-flu-outbreak/>
:

All poultry owners are now required to register for an NC Farm ID number,
regardless of the number of birds owned.

 This ID number will help the department to alert poultry owners about
outbreaks.

 Owners can register online after August 1.

 It's that word "regardless" that has people talking. Seriously - NCFarmID
for one or two chickens? NCFarmID regardless
<http://www.ncagr.gov/avianflu/>. Some backyard chicken owners already
don't appreciate what they feel is an invasive mandate.

The Ag Department issued a press release
<http://www.ncagr.gov/paffairs/release/2015/7-15-avian-flu-preparations.htm>.
The designated information area specifically for backyard chickens reads
<http://www.ncagr.gov/avianflu/>:

“In planning our response for highly pathogenic avian influenza, one
problem we’ve come across is that we can’t protect birds that we don’t know
exist,” Meckes said. “We need to know where poultry are located so we can
properly protect commercial and backyard flocks."

Given the government's previous treatment of backyard gardeners, family
farms and chicken owners, with the addition of destructive practices should
an outbreak be declared and a general misunderstanding and mistreatment of
independent growers - it isn't too surprising that backyard free-range
owners are concerned about getting flagged in a database. If previous
abuses like the Rawesome food raid
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/03/rawsome-raid-_n_917540.html>
and Morningland
Dairy Cheese
<http://www.activistpost.com/2013/01/final-fda-raid-and-takeover-of.html>
hadn't taken place, then maybe people would be happier to help without
concerns of targeting and food source destruction.

*The Food and Commerce Crimp-Down Continues*

Bird sales were already limited earlier this year, but now shows and live
bird sales will be cancelled this fall and winter. Individual sales will
still be allowed, but sellers - including pet store owners - are prompted
to quarantine their chicks for 2-4 weeks to be in compliance with "
biosecurity <http://www.ncagr.gov/avianflu/>." More rules are in place
for farmers
markets <http://www.ncagr.gov/avianflu/index.htm#tabs-11>.

Additionally, there is a requirement for poultry farmers to submit an HPAI
(avian flu) outbreak plan if they have 200 or more birds. That plan
submission - required by September, is not required for those a part of the
national poultry improvement plan.

The outbreaks were started and spread rapidly among large-scale farms where
one can only imagine the conditions. They are devastating, but did you know
that free-range backyard chickens have remained mostly untouched by the
epidemic?
<http://www.offgridquest.com/health-nutrition/free-range-backyard-chickens-seem-immune>

So doesn't it seem unnecessary and burdensome to lump free-range owners and
family farms in with commercial entities and appear to target them?

And if you still think all of this sounds like no biggie, you are free to
sign up for the "Practice Backyard Bird Biosecurity: Learn from the Experts
<https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1069188>" webinar. All of this
sounds so helpful, but the pressure is really on for those who have a
couple birds. As egg farmer
<http://www.naturalblaze.com/2015/04/minnesota-takes-aim-at-egg-farmer-co-op.html>
Alvin Schlangen conveyed to me (Alvin was targeted by local departments and
courts *three* times
<http://www.naturalblaze.com/search?q=alvin+schlangen&x=0&y=0>), when
poultry catches avian flu they fall over dead. The domino effect comes from
their living condition and having thousands of them bunched up together.

If this doesn't sit right with you, join the Facebook page "NO to NC
Chicken Registration
<https://www.facebook.com/pages/NO-to-NC-Chicken-Registration/149714152026572>
."

A petition to Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is HERE
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1tzD0D8KfyANck10vHI3B5iwMJHgd_V6I0JZ1UXE0WLU/viewform>
.


*Heather Callaghan
<http://www.naturalblaze.com/search/label/Heather-Callaghan> is an
independent researcher, natural health blogger and food freedom activist.
You can see her work at NaturalBlaze.com <http://naturalblaze.com/> and
ActivistPost.com <http://activistpost.com/>. Like at Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Natural-Blaze/228076017338034>.*

*This article can be republished from this site in part or in full, leaving
all links intact, giving full attribution including bio and link back to
website <http://www.naturalblaze.com/> or article.*