Mennonite Farmer Excused From ID Number Mandate In Settlement of Lawsuit

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture officials have quickly settled a lawsuit filed by a Mennonite farmer who had religious objections to the requirement that he obtain a federal identification number in order to continue to ship his ducks to markets in New York. (See prior posting.) A settlement stipulation filed in court on Wednesday in Landis v. Wolff provides that James Landis will not be required to obtain a federal premise identification number in order to participate in the Avian Influenza Monitored Flock Program. Alliance Defense Fund announced the settlement in a press release yesterday.