Federal court dismisses ranchers’ Federal Advisory Committee Case

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Federal court dismisses ranchers’ Federal Advisory Committee Case

A federal district court in Wyoming has dismissed a lawsuit alleging the USDA violated federal law in its effort to mandate radio frequency identification (RFID) ear tags on cattle.

R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard tells Brownfield a USDA sub agency unlawfully established and utilized two committees to help require RFID tags.  “We alleged that the USDA did utilize two private committees, and many of the people were hand-picked in order to assist the government and work out the details of how to actually mandate RFID.”

The case alleges the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) with the use of private committees.

Bullard says R-CALF USA is considering whether they should appeal the decision.

On March 23, 2021, APHIS withdrew its 2020 notice by formally announcing the agency would not proceed to implement its second attempt to mandate RFID technology, which was the other half of the lawsuit.

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