You can remove your property from the premises registration database by writing a letter to the coordinator of your state’s animal identification program, asking to be removed. If you have access to the web, all state coordinators are listed on the USDA website at animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/contact_us/directories.shtml; or you can call your state department of agriculture and ask to be referred to the coordinator. If you don’t know whether or not you are in the state’s database, first inquire about that.

Once you have ascertained your property is listed, write a short letter to your coordinator, asking to be removed from your state’s premises registration database, and asking your state to remove your property from the federal database. Send copies of your letter to your state and federal elected representatives; be sure to indicate on your letter that you have sent these copies.

After a month, if you have not received a reply, start regularly inquiring about the status of your request. Also contact the Liberty Ark Coalition, which is monitoring the success of the opt-out process to determine if it is working as the USDA claims. For more information see How to Get Out of NAIS. If you need assistance feel free to contact the Liberty Ark Coalition, PO Box 191, Hollow Rock, TN 38342, 731-986-0099, . Opting out of premises registration is a strong way to voice your opposition to NAIS.

Karin Bergener of Ravenna, Ohio, is an attorney and co-founder of Liberty Ark Coalition. This article appeared in the Autumn 2007 issue of Rural Heritage.