Big Bro. is Watching

[prairiechicken]

OK, this is a new one. Today I picked up a few Americana pullet chicks at the farm store. When I paid for them they had to fill out a page with my address, etc. on it under the guise that this was because of "Avian flu" and they needed to have a record of where all the chicks they had sold had gone.
Anyone else have any experience with "Big Bro" sticking their nose in our business?

[Patrick]

OK, this is a new one. Today I picked up a few Americana pullet chicks at the farm store. When I paid for them they had to fill out a page with my address, etc. on it under the guise that this was because of "Avian flu" and they needed to have a record of where all the chicks they had sold had gone.
Anyone else have any experience with "Big Bro" sticking their nose in our business?

First, it's Ameraucana, but no matter, because that's probably not what you have anyway.

Second, just because they ask doesn't mean that you have to comply. I am asked for my social security number occasionally, or my driver's license number, by nongovernment entities, and I refuse. They have no business with that information. Some states have implimented their own forms of NAIS, so it may be a requirement, but if their customers are not buying because of it, you can bet that the store will be complaining about the loss of business. I would have refused, and then see if they would still sell them to me, and I would have asked to see the regulation which states that they need to collect my information. If you refused to buy based on the collection of information, be sure to tell the store manager, because some flunky at the register doesn't care. BTW, they can always track you through your credit card purchase, but that's not the point.

[JonAld]

Also last year i bought my first chicks at TSC and they had you fill out the forms and in the next couple weeks i got a few catalogs from hatcheries that i didnt know existed so they could be selling that info to them.

[Patrick]

TSC is a great company, they donate to a lot of our shows, but they are first and foremost in business.

[destiny56085]

Here is what I've dealt with in MN at least. To sell hatching eggs, chicks or young stock under 5 months of age you have to provide proof that your breeder flock is free of PT. If you are dealing with just a very few chicks then you can show a PT slip with your annual flock inspection to prove that the parents were disease free. If you are dealing with larger numbers then you have to get a hatchery permit and provide a statement of origin for every sale. The customer's name as well as the vendor's info is all filled out. A Runnings, TSC, etc has no way of testing the parent stock. They do have to have a hatchery permit and keep track of sales just in case there is a disease outbreak. The board of animal health wants to know where those birds are going. Don't blame the stores. They are just following the rules that our government is imposing on them.

[destiny56085]

Here is a link to the 'statement of origin' form that we have to fill out here in MN:
http://www.bah.state.mn.us/animals/poultry/files/statement-of-origin.pdf

Here is the link to the hatchery application permit:
http://www.bah.state.mn.us/animals/poultry/files/wegby-hatchery.pdf

Here is the link to the poultry dealer permit:
http://www.bah.state.mn.us/animals/poultry/files/poultry-dealer-app.pdf

Here are some of the main rules...
*****From the MPTL.... For any questions, please call (320) 231-5170. For complete list of regulations go to https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/?id=1710
1710.1430 Identification: "If further testing is required, all poultry must be identified in such a way as to be individually found when the test is completed and all positive birds must be identified with a leg or wing band. Poultry tested for sale or exhibition must be identified with a leg or wing band."
1710.1310 Sale of Poultry and Hatching Eggs: "No person may sell, offer for sale, purchase, or trade poultry less than 5 months of age and their hatching eggs unless they originate from flocks and hatcheries under the supervision of the board and parts 1710.1300 to 1710.1530. Birds over 5 months of age must be tested and be negative for the appropriate required tests before being sold, except those sold for immediate slaughter."
* Required tests include Salmonella pullorum-typhoid. In addition, turkeys must be tested and negative for Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) and Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) prior to sale. The owner must receive and have the official test chart/report from the MPTL to verify results prior to the sale. The MN Board of Animal Health does not require testing for Avian Influenza (AI) at this time.*

Once you read through this stuff you will understand WHY the places that sell chicks in bulk have to go through this. Some states are even more strict. Its not because they are being nosy and trying to sell your info. If they want to stay in business they have to follow the rules.

[Chikz]

That reminds me -- NAIS (National Animal Identification System) has been quietly sitting under the radar for the past couple years, but it's waiting for the opportunity to impose itself on us, state by state. I'm staying vigilent.

[Oregon Swedes]

(shrug) if the government wants you badly enough, they can find you.

My address and phone number are on the check I pay with, so it's not like I'm not giving them my address, anyway.

I'm not really opposed to some means to try to control an avian flu outbreak. Preferably, before it reaches my flock.

[Mary]

I agree with the man that said refuse to buy if you have to give info. They are slowly taking our rights away. First we had to register guns we purchased. Why not just give you a card like the grocery stores and then they can keep track of that. If there is an out break all the farm/feed stores can post a notice and mention it to customers like use to be done and then the "government" would not have to keep track. The "government" is suppose to be us. Unfortunately we let some one else take care of things and those who want to control us are taking over and if WE don't stop it our kids will live to see a dictatorship or worse here. And if you don't believe it just ask someone who remembers what Khrushchev said when he beat his shoe on the desk in the UN back in the early 60's.

[btm]

I agree!!!

[Patrick]

What actually is worse than a dictatorship?

[Chikz]

What actually is worse than a dictatorship?

Complete anarchy.
Human society is based on order maintained, sometimes forced, by an alpha (usually male) ruler. Even our so-called democratic republic, while on the surface is comprised of different arms of elected or appointed government (ostensibly so no one person or few persons wield all the power... the president is just one arm), is manipulated by alpha (usually male) corporate powers-that-be. At the center of every society's web lies a coterie of powerful men who are de facto dictators in their control of the economy and the flow of goods and cash.

There have been "benign dictators" -- emperors, kings or queens, etc. -- who were loved and inspired loyalty. Wouldn't that be preferable to total anarchy and chaos (which would eventually settle into fiefdoms run by warlords -- and the cycle of alpha power starts anew).