USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced on Wednesday it is pulling back on mandating the use of radio frequency identification eartags on cattle and bison in interstate commerce.

It will instead use the rulemaking process for any future action related to the proposal.

The agency’s decision is a win for R-CALF USA, which filed suit against USDA over the agency’s first attempt to mandate the use of RFID eartags with an April 2019 notice.

Represented by the New Civil Liberties Alliance, R-CALF alleged the mandate violates current traceability regulations that allow other forms of identification.

Within weeks, APHIS withdrew that mandate but issued essentially the same mandate in July 2020.

“Today’s announcement is good news for cattle producers, as it means the impending threat of a costly RFID mandate is now removed,” Bill Bullard, R-CALF’s CEO, said in a statement.

“But we must not stop defending the rights of producers because it’s clear the agency fully intends to continue efforts to force this costly mandate upon America’s independent cattle producers,” he said.

APHIS’ 2020 notice stated RFID eartags would become the only identification devices approved as an official eartag for cattle and bison on Jan. 1, 2023.

Until the agency takes further action, cattle and bison producers can continue to use metal or plastic eartags, brands, tattoos, group/lot identification and backtags authorized under current law.

APHIS made the decision to go through the rulemaking process after reviewing more than 900 public comments on its 2020 notice, the agency said in its announcement.

R-CALF filed an amended lawsuit following APHIS’ withdrawal of its original mandate, alleging the agency also violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act by relying exclusively on a hand-picked group of individuals who have been advocating the use of RFID tags — including eartag manufacturers.

The lawsuit contends the Federal Advisory Committee Act requires balanced representation on advisory committees.

R-CALF attorney Harriet Hageman of the New Civil Liberties Alliance said her organization is pleased APHIS is coming to the realization it must follow the law when considering animal identification and traceability. NCLA is a nonprofit and nonpartisan public interest law firm.

“Mandating RFID requirements through an illegal process doesn’t serve anyone in the livestock industry, least of all our cattle and bison producers,” she said.

Regulated identification applies to sexually intact animals over 18 months old.

APHIS stated it continues to believe the RFID tags will provide the cattle industry with the best protection against the rapid spread of animal disease and it will continue to encourage the use of RFID tags while rulemaking is pending.