Comments about ‘Cattle branding ritual endures as Western ranchers await new regulations on animal ID’

Common sense? From a Washington bureaucrat? Really?

"resistant to any further animal identification requirements from the federal regulators who may not understand the particular needs of cattle ranchers whose stock graze on the open range."

"The government doesn't know half of what it ought to"

They know less than that....

Ignore the FDA, who cares what they say? Better yet, eliminate the FDA, they're a complete waste of money.

More bureaucrats, more rules, but not necessarily better rules.

The feds should make it a goal to cut back 10% of all their rules every year, until only 10% of today's rules are left. (Start by eliminating every piece ofpaper fromt eh Departemnt of Education- that will cover a year or two...)

We need more freedom and less nanny state meddling.

And, we darn sure cannot afford to pay for all the bureaucrats we have making up silly rules!

I read the whole article and I still don't understand what the issue is. The article alludes to the fact that ear tags are more expensive and not as secure. But it doesn't walk through the pros and cons of each method or why the govt is trying to change previous practice. The individuals being interviewed don't state why they prefer one over the other and only state that they don't like the federal govt getting involved. I also don't appreciate govt involvement in my issues but when cattle are grazing freely on public lands, the govt has no choice but to be involved, whether at the state or federal levels. They must have reasons for doing what they are doing and I'm interested in hearing what they are. Until this just sounds like complaining about modernization and change. Past practice is never justification for avoiding future progress.

L, "I read the whole article and I still don't understand what the issue is. [Washington] must have reasons for doing what they are doing and I'm interested in hearing what they are."

Aside from the fact you have reading comprehension problems -- tags cost more, can be removed by thieves or dislodged easily, and when there is a disease whole herds, not just individual cows must be inspected -- you trust Washington WAY too much.

This is just some bureaucrat making work for himself, costing taxpayers unnecessary government salaries and higher beef prices.

Without government, companies get away with stuff 'behind the scenes' that poses serious moral problems, health, and other dangers we need to prevent. Is the problem having a government that regulates? No. The problem is that our government punishes the innocent and protects the guilty. People behind desks who aren't willing to do any labor in their own life are governing the rules for people who's entirely livelihood relies on a lifestyle the desk-person refuses to understand. No matter what we do, we're doomed to fail because we're either too governed or not governed enough.

With that in mind, it isn't government that is the problem- but we the people who elect the incompetent to office. We don't know where our food comes from because we don't care. Most people will ignore this branding issue, because we don't care. The problem is us.

I agree with this father and son completely. I just blame the silent voices as much as organizations like PETA that complain about a sitting president swatting a fly. We don't care, and those who do care can't even, or don't want to think straight.

Branding is wrong. The fact it has been done for decades or centuries doesn't change that. Thank goodness we have a government that recognises its right and responsibility to interfer in our lives where necessary.

While we are at changing this, we ought to look into changing the way we treat chickens. Many of them live their whole life in a crowded cage where they don't even have room to stretch their wings. There is no excuse for this.

I believe that branding cows is a safe and secure method for identifying these animals. I also believe that the government is getting way too big for its britches and needs to be taken down more than a few notches. Additionally, I believe that fringe organizations such as PETA should have no influence over our government officials.

What I can't believe is that someone named their kid Workabeba Yigzaw.

@barfolomew, I believe Workabeba Yigzaw is an Amharic name. Believe it or not, English is not the world's only language and American is not the world's only culture.

Maybe tattooing is the answer. Humans are gladly getting tattooed more and more as a means of self-identity, and apparently there is no inhumane pain involved. Should not this be a reasonable way to identify our food chain livestock?

@On the other hand

Ligthten up, Francis. It was a joke.

@barfolomew, do you make a habit of disparaging all immigrants, or just immigrants from Ethiopia? Your joke is offensive, not funny.

It is all about work flow. Time is money. Branding is fast and efficient. Tattooing would drag the time and process out. Tattooing has to be done where there is no fur, like the lip or ear. Brands can be recognized from as far as you can see, which can be long distances with binoculars. Likewise, microchips and tattoos would have to be read at close range. Microchips with an NFC (near field communications) device held within an inch or so of the chip. I can see a whole new crop of Youtube videos of stupid bureaucrats chasing cows around to identify them. It should make for good humor.

Again, the saying "brand recognition" didn't just come from corporate entities. This is where it all started. If cattle branding goes away maybe even Cudahy will have to "rebrand" from Bar-S meats to Microchip-S meats.

Just one more example of government interference. If it isn't broke,keep trying because you can break it and destroy people's lives and jobs. You can also do an in depth research of the "pink slime" debacle. Yet again, the government trying to put people out of business or starting rumors that are not true. That meat is softer because it has been put through a centrifuser to extract the fat and be able to use the meat. It is not dangerous to anyone's health. If that rumor manages to shut down that industry, it will mean a significant increase in the cost of meat. Don't listen to the government. Do your own research.

Be careful speaking out. Could be considered a terrorist Threat.

justamacguy, you hit it right on the head. Branding makes herd inspection much easier, plus the cost to brand is virtully nill.
Forty years ago, we used to rope it, hold the calf down on the ground,(didn't have a fancy branding chute) brand it, de-horn, put on a rubber band and let it go.
Never lost a calf doing it that way. Sure got some black and blue shins though.
Makes me miss my horse.

I grew up in the ranching business. Tradition and family pride aside, the real issues involve open range and quick, visual and permanent identification of cattle. When several ranches' herds are intermixed, sorting them back into herds requires quick identification. Tags will sometimes get ripped off or torn out. With no brand, the ID is gone.

Cattle rustling did not go away with the Old West. It's far more sophisticated today. Eliminating branding would be a rustlers' dream: clip tag, replace with your own, and voila! You own a critter at the cost of grabbing it. Losses would mount rather quickly, the price of beef skyrockets, demand goes down, and many producers simply would not survive.

And for those who are advocating ear tags as a replacement out of consideration for the animal: did you think ear-tagging is painless? I'm sure they both involve pain, but the ear is one of the most nerve-laden parts of the body. I suspect it's no less painful that an electronic brand on one of the thickest parts of the hide.

Bottom line: it's best to get educated on a subject before offering up opinions.

I branded calves as a kid, stunk pretty bad. But it was a fast and reliable way of tagging a cow. I can't see how the federal government has an interest in regulating branding. The FDA? Really? When I was a kid, the FDA was the regulatory agency over food and drugs. As long as the beef is acceptable for public consumption, it should not matter if the ranchers dressed the cows up like Las Vegas show girls to help identify them on the range.

cjb,

Is causing pain to an animal morally wrong? My dog is scared to death of getting nails trimmed. I still have it done. If you're a vegetarian- then fine. But you aren't justified in criticizing the rest of the world when other people's lives, needs, beliefs, and health differ from yours in a way that makes you no less free than you are now. And if you aren't, then you can't possibly justify killing the cow and not branding the cow.

If people focused their blame and attention on those who steal- then we could prevent this from even being a debate. A man protecting his property, income, and feeding his family is his right- even if it isn't through the 'nicest' of methods. When you do enough to protect him from thieves, then you can criticize branding all you want. Heck, you could probably criminalize the act and no one would care- if you did enough to protect the rancher in the first place.

I'm all for treating animals with great care, health, and comfort- but branding is a reaction to a problem, not the problem itself.

The bigger our government gets the more invasive it becomes. Mostly this is not an issue of animal care, nore is it looking for a better way to identify cattle. This is an issue of to many midlevel government employees, they are all looking for job justification. More regulation is the result of to many bored government employees looking for a way to justify the very existance of their job. Every administrational branch of our government has been adding more and more regulations onto we the people, the tax payers. Yet the government claims they don't have enough people to enforce their OWN regulations? We are all paying fines, taxes, and enforcement fees levied by regulation, none of which are actual laws passed by our representatives, signed by our Govenor or President.