MANY STILL MUST REGISTER PROPERTY
Monday, December 12th, 2005 -- 9:54 AM
With a deadline looming, many Clark County livestock owners haven?t registered their properties yet. The Wisconsin Premises Registration Act requires anyone who ?keeps, houses, or co-mingles? livestock to register their premises by January 1, 2006.Only cats, dogs and rabbits are excluded.
Matt Jorgensen of UW-Extension says recent discussion about Avian Influenza serves as a fitting backdrop to the approaching deadline.
"Emergency management officials really want to know where those animals are in case we have a disease outbreak, Jorgensen says. "We can more quickly contain it. Depopulate, quarantine if we have to."
"If we come up with Avian Influenza, it not only effects Clark County but it really effects the state of Wisconsin and the entire nation."
Those that don?t register could be denied animal indemnity payments and animal license renewal.
"Except for dairy sales licenses, any other license renewal - if you don't have a premises ID and you need one, you wouldn't be allowed to renew you license," Jorgensen explains.
Recent media reports indicate some members of the Amish community and others oppose registration on religious grounds. They fear the list will lead to the registration of individual animals ? which they consider the ?Mark of the Beast?.
You can register and get answers to frequently asked questions at [url=http://www.wiid.org]www.wiid.org[/url]. There is no cost to register.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.