BELVIDERE, S.D. (WNAX) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has paused its effort to mandate radio frequency identification ear tags for cattle and bison. That was removed following a lawsuit filed by R-CALF. One of the lead plaintiffs in the case is South Dakota rancher Kenny Fox of Belvidere who serves as R-CALF’s Animal ID Chairman. He says their litigation is continuing.

He says the original move to mandate the RFID tags is just government overreach.

USDA officials say they still believe RFID devices will provide the cattle industry with the best protection against the rapid spread of animal diseases. Fox says they’ve already been able to protect against those without the RFID tags.

APHIS recently removed the RFID documents from its website saying it is no longer representative of current agency policy.