Livestock Production Vulnerable to Attack

October 4, 2006 — 

Participants at the International Symposium on Agroterrorism last week were told that U.S. livestock production is vulnerable to terrorist attack due to its concentration and lack of security and surveillance. This according to Peter Chalk, senior political scientist at RAND Corporation.

He indicated that there is a widespread lack of basic security such as locks and gates. An attack on U.S. livestock would have serious consequences for the farm economy given that livestock generates approximately 9.7% of the national gross domestic product and accounts for $50 billion annually in export revenues.

His analysis went on to show that the U.S. has "an inefficient disease-reporting system, as many illnesses go unreported, possibly circumventing the chance to head off a foreign animal disease outbreak in its earliest stages." He also noted that veterinarians are not trained to recognize foreign animal diseases.

Chalk identified three major goals a terrorist might have when considering an attack on U.S. livestock. Those goals include: economic destabilization, loss in consumer confidence, and social instability.

Source:
Cattlenetwork.com, September 27, 2006