Does it violate freedom of religion for the government to require that electronic markers be implanted in cows and other livestock? A group of Michigan farmers thinks it does and they’ve filed suit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) to prevent the requirement of electronic tags on their livestock.

The tagging procedure is being mandated to help the government track diseases in animals as they travel from farm to slaughterhouse to stores, but the farmers say that such a system violates their religious freedom because it represents the “mark of the beast” mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. The complaint says:

“Use of a numbering system for their premises and/or electronic numbering system for their animals constitutes some form of a ‘mark of the beast’ and/or represents an infringement of their ‘dominion over cattle and all living things’ in violation of their fundamental religious beliefs.”

The “mark of the beast” is, according to some interpretations of the Bible, a mark that all people will have to get during the “end times” predicted in Revelation.

The RFID tag system for livestock is part of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), which is being implemented in Michigan by the MDA. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction against the implementation and enforcement of the law and are asking for a preliminary injunction to be issued immediately to prevent “irreparable, actual harm” to the plaintiffs’ rights and interests.