re: (AP) "HARRISBURG, Pa. - The state Agriculture Department acknowledged Friday that it erroneously advised Pennsylvania poultry farmers they were required to enroll in a voluntary federal farm-registration program in order to participate in the state's avian-influenza monitoring program this year. /Spokesman Christopher Ryder said officials realized the error only after the department was sued by a conservative Mennonite farmer who claimed he would suffer ``eternal damnation'' if he complied with the rule and got a federal registration number to continue to sell his ducks. /``Apparently, they changed their mind at the last moment,'' said James Landis, the Lebanon County farmer who filed the lawsuit. /Landis said he and other members of the Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church believe the Bible's book of Revelation warns that numbering systems that require participation as a requirement for doing business are the work of the Antichrist. /The deadline for enrolling in this year's monitoring program is June 30. Ryder said department officials expect to reach an accommodation with Landis and will contact other farmers to ensure that they know that participation in the federal program is not mandatory. Ryder said he did not know how many farmers received the incorrect notices..."...
hat tip: The Alliance Alert
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