Playing Chicken Little?
by Pat Corbett

In response to the articles written by attorney Karin Bergener, when did Rural Heritage become a political publication for one-sided activism? No government agency is free of problems. However, reading these articles, it seems that the USDA is going to knock down your door and euthanize every breathing entity in a 100-mile radius.  

One article about the ongoing struggles with NAIS would be adequate, but to continually drive home her agenda, issue after issue, with pages of anti-government sentiment is going overboard. It would be nice to have a little more farming and logging, and a lot less politics. Stop playing chicken little.

Pat Corbett lives in Butte, Montana. His letter and the following response appeared in the Spring 2007 issue of Rural Heritage.

Karin’s agenda is the same as ours here at Rural Heritage—to preserve your right to farm and log with draft animals. Neither Karin nor Rural Heritage is anti-government. USDA has a purpose and, you are right, no organization is free of foibles. The point we have been trying to make is that USDA is undermining its own ability do its real mission.

Karin responds further, “As to whether USDA is likely to break down your door and depopulate every animal within 100 miles is debatable, and I would say not. The policy involves a 10-kilometer kill zone—far less than 100 miles. To find out what authority USDA has to do this, and more, including warrantless searches and depopulation without any court order, look up the Animal Health Protection Act of 2002, 7 USC 8301 to 8320. Most states have similar sweeping powers. I’m not making up these things. I’m just offering the facts so the good readers of Rural Heritage can make their own decisions.”