Animal Agriculture

Animal Welfare

We believe two or more North Dakota licensed veterminarians specialized in large animal health from two different veterinarian clinics one of which shall be chosen by the owner of the livestock, should be consulted to determine animal neglect, abuse or cruelty prior to charges or seizure of livestock.

We oppose any promotion by anti-agricultural activists or environmental groups in our schools and the use of state-funded media for their purpose.

We oppose the Human Society of the United States involvement in the trianing of law enforcement personnel in regard to animal cruelty regulations.

We support the humane treatment of animals but will oppose and work to change any law elevating animals to the level of humans.

In an animal dispute, all parties should attempt to resolve the issue before involving the authorities.

We believe no action should be pursued by law enforcement on animal welfare complaints based on anonymous reports.

We believe animals should not be seized without approval from the State Veterinarian on behalf of the Board of Animal Health and until the owners have been afforded due process in the court of law.

We support NDFB working to strengthen animal owner's private property rights under North Dakota's existing animal cruelty and abuse legislation.

Livestock Health

We support the responsible use of antibiotics and the science-based use of them.

We support licensed North Dakota veterminarians prescribing medicines for livestock to ranchers or farmers who have a vertinery client patient relationship.

We support the North Dakota Board of Animal Health and the Johnes Advisory Committee in its continuation of the volunteer Johnes testing program.

In the absence of adequate federal funding, we urge the governor and the Emergency Commission to provide funding to the Board of Animal Health for testing and depopulating tuberculosis or brucellosis infected herds of both domestic and non-traditional livestock.

Brand Inspection and Animal Identification

We support the current North Dakota state brand program operated by the North Dakota Stockmen's Association and its use as a legally recognized form of identification and livestock proof of ownership.

We support the use of high frequency electronic tags for federally mandated livestock traceability programs.

We believe any animal identification program should be voluntary and market-driven. We oppose any and all attempts to make it a mandatory, government-run program.

General Animal Ag

We support labeling of U.S. commodities through the channels of free enterprise and entrepreneurship rather than a government mandated program.

We believe food products sold as meat must come from live animals. Any synthetic products manufactured in a lab must be so labeled.

We support the privately funded horse racing industry and any wagering that is associated with it, whether it be live racing in North Dakota or through electronic means.

Animal Feeding Operation

We believe local units of government choosing to adopt ordinances which are more restrictive than the state model ordinances for animal feeding operations should not be allowed to take advantage of the North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund (NDIRF).

We believe the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality should not be allowed to require local government approval prior to issuing any permits for livestock facilities.

We believe local units of government should not be allowed to require approval by the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality prior to approving any building permits.

We support moving the Animal Feeding Operations (AFO) permitting process from the Deprtment of Environmental Quality to the Department of Agriculture.

Processing Facilities

We support the development of animal rendering plants and/or businesses.

We support private development of local and state processing plants and believe it will create income for our producers.

We support the diversificaiton of livestock classes and the increased capacity within the meat packing industry.

We support the reinstatement of federal funding for meat inspectors in horse processing facilities. If this is not attained, we urge the North Dakota Department of Agriculture to work closely with other states to find a way to fund our inspectors.