Committee advances bill declaring Wyoming opposed to mandatory electronic livestock ID

Senate File 64, a bill stating that Wyoming opposes federal requirements for mandatory electronic identification devices for livestock, advanced out of the Agriculture, State & Public Lands & Water Resources Committee on a 5-0 roll call vote.

Senator Steinmetz, the bill sponsor, told the committee: "Wyoming opposes mandatory electronic ID devices in livestock." She said the bill would reinforce existing state law allowing voluntary identification methods such as brands, back tags, tattoos and ear tags and would require veterinarians to inform producers of those options. Steinmetz also cited legislative findings in the bill text that assert federal EID requirements would track a minority of animals and could impose costs for tags, software and facility retrofits.

The measurewhich committee members described as a statement of state policywas framed by supporters as protection for producers and veterinarians. Representative Chip Nyman, who said he helped pass WyomingAnimal…