Livestock law to lift income for ranchers

Thursday, 14 November 2013 00:10
 thenews.mx.com


The Durango Congress unanimously passed a reform to the state’s Livestock Law on Tuesday.

According to a state government press release, this reform seeks to generate a culture of livestock production for export, guaranteeing the demand of international markets through high sanitary standards, which it said would boost the income of local ranchers.

Once the Agricultural and Livestock Affairs Committee of the Durango Congress analyzed the initiative presented by Gov. Jorge Herrera Caldera, a bill was drafted and taken to the floor of the legislature.

Fernando Barragán Martínez, president of the Agricultural and Livestock Affairs Committee, said that it was necessary to follow the lead of the Herrera Caldera administration in promoting better conditions for farmers and ranchers and their products, to promote Durango as a beef exporter.

Durango’s livestock industry has been hit hard in recent years, as three years of consecutive droughts have significantly reduced the size of the state’s cattle herds.

With these reforms, Barragán Martínez said, there will be stronger regulations on the sale of livestock, which he said will promote high sanitary standards and promote the competitiveness of the state’s livestock industry, providing a new level of development for the state’s ranchers and boosting the local economy overall.

These modifications to the legal framework of the livestock industry will locally implement the National System of Individual Livestock Identification through identification devices that allow better control over the sale of cattle, certifying their health.

The reform also establishes a Single Invoice Form, to be issued by the state government, providing livestock to be exported with a tool that will legally certify their origin and allowing them to be easily traced.

Strong economic and administrative penalties will also be established for middlemen, venders, transport companies and exporters who violate the new regulations. Other control mechanisms will also be established on ranches to ensure that violations of sanitary regulations will be reduced as much as possible.

THE NEWS