All sheep, cattle and pigs in the UK are required to be tagged with simple visual tags which are recorded on a database for both disease surveillance and to fulfil the requirements of the various subsidy schemes operated from EU budgets. You're right that it would be logistically simple to change these to RFID tags, but the equipment would still have to be paid for by someone...
David.
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Research and teaching on surveillance
>[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ian Welton
>Sent: 26 April 2006 15:12
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: RFID tags on US livestock (at least to start with...)
>
>
>D F J Wood on 26 April 2006 at 12:33 said:-
>
>> That depends whether the measure is regarded as useful biosecurity
>> terms by the OIE, who regulate international animal disease
>> monitoring, by the EU agriculture people: It is very
>unlikely that the
>> UK would introduce such a scheme ahead of the EU.
>
>What happened to the beef database brought into existence in
>the UK to simplify tracking of beasts during BSE/CJD and foot
>and mouth?
>
>If it is still in existence the ID tag to RFID issue merely
>changes part of that mechanism and is unlikely to be seen as
>changing anything other than adding an extra expense to farming.
>
>Given the hyped concerns about many diseases arguments to RFID
>everything will always exist.
>
>Ann Rudinow Sætnan on 26 April 2006 at 12:55 said:-
>
>> I wouldn't put it past this Administration to already have their eye
>> on tagging (certain) humans. You do have to wonder what they're
>> planning when they've already contracted the building of large
>> detention centers. "Illegal aliens" are the putative target. At the
>> same time, they're proposing that undocumented aliens be offered
>> limited-time residence permits to work. Soooo ... would they be
>> looking at RFID tagging non-permanent residents to keep them from
>> disappearing into the woodwork?
>
>Positioning things like passport chips in a permanently
>personal and secure location is likely to become a matter of
>concern at some stage with anxieties about the ease of
>reading/obtaining/processing only different in scale to the
>current concerns regarding obtaining body samples.
>
>In my view a more important question has to be how effective
>the security mechanisms and available recourses for intrusion
>into data or wrongful processing are. Given the experiences of
>the past 20 years and the functional uses made of privacy
>personally I am pessimistic rather than optimistic.
>
>Ian W
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Research and teaching on surveillance
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of D F J Wood
>> Sent: 26 April 2006 12:33
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: RFID tags on US livestock (at least to start with...)
>>
>>
>> That depends whether the measure is regarded as useful biosecurity
>> terms by the OIE, who regulate international animal disease
>> monitoring, by the EU agriculture people: It is very
>unlikely that the
>> UK would introduce such a scheme ahead of the EU.
>>
>> My guess is that this is designed to mollify previous countries that
>> used to imported large amounts of US beef that are currently
>blocking
>> imports of because of BSE there: Japan and Korea especially.
>>
>> David;
>>
>> (currently doing work on surveillance, biosecuirty and the OIE)
>>
>>
>> >-----Original Message-----
>> >From: Research and teaching on surveillance
>> >[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of CAMERON Derrick F
>> >Sent: 26 April 2006 12:26
>> >To: [log in to unmask]
>> >Subject: RFID tags on US livestock (at least to start with...)
>> >
>> >
>> >Here's the link:
>> http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1761718,00.html
>> >
>> >Does that mean the UK will be next?
>> >
>> >Derrick
>> >
>> >
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>> >
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