Stop National Animal ID
First They Came

When NAIS started, I was a simple woman with six chickens and a horse.

First they came for the cattle ranchers (although they already knew how to find BSE),
But I was not a cattle rancher, so I did not fight.

Then they came for the sheep ranchers (although the scrapies program worked fine),
But I had no sheep, so I did not speak out.

They came next for the goat herders (who already tattooed their goats),
But I did not consider their plight my own.

Then they came for the chickens and ducks, but "only the large producers,"
So I did not fight against NAIS.

Again they came, this time for the pigs (although pig farmers have proper husbandry),
But I did not raise pigs, so I did not fight.

Then they came after the Llamas and Alpacas, but they were expensive animals,
So none of the ranchers fought, even those who owned them.

Then they tagged all the horses, but the AQHA and jockeys said it was all right, not to worry,
So I did not think I would lose my right to trail ride.

Then in waves, they came after
The elk ranchers
The deer herders
The bison ranchers.

Then, when the numbers were not enough, they came for the small farmers.
And I, now a felon with chickens and a horse, had no one to speak for me.

Adapted by Karin Bergener from a verse by Pastor Martin Niemöller circa 1945.


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12 April 2006