Anti-Terror Rules Have The State's Henhouses Clucking
US - In the mid-1980s, Minnesota's Gold'n Plump Chickens gained national attention for television advertisements featuring combat-ready, helmeted birds driving tanks or parachuting from airplanes. The humorous message was that they were protecting the Midwest from foul fowl out of the South.
11 September 2007
2 minute read
Now a rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security suggests those courageous birds might need to re-enlist, this time to combat terrorists.
DHS rules issued in April warned that any facility that stores significant amounts of chemicals would need to register with the government and do risk-assessment evaluations. That includes any business that possesses more than 7,500 pounds of propane.
That ruffled the feathers of the poultry industry, including about 1,000 Minnesota farms that need large amounts of propane to heat barns. They fear the burden of registration fees and complicated forms.
News that his farm might be a security risk surprised Kent Meschke, whose family has raised turkeys near Little Falls for 40 years.
Source: WestCentralTribune
