Farming: Playing tag with livestock

Any cattle, sheep, goats or pigs bound for export – including to Northern Ireland – will need to comply with new ear-tagging regulations when the transition period ends in just over a month, it has been revealed.

Yesterday the UK Government released new guidance for those involved in the trade, revealing that the current “UK” tags would no longer allow animals to qualify for export.

Livestock in the UK are currently identified with UK ear tags in accordance with the European Union’s single market rules – but after January 1, exporters from Great Britain will need to ensure that their animals are identified with the ISO country code, which is “GB” for the UK, Defra announced yesterday.

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It also divulged that under the Northern Ireland Protocol, movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland would need to meet the same requirements.

Animals already individually identified will require a third (management) tag with the prefix GB followed by the animal’s individual number – but for as-yet-untagged animals bound for export, UK tags bearing a GB suffix could be applied, according to a spokesperson.

Farming Minister Victoria Prentis said that exporters should contact tag suppliers to ensure they were able to identify their animals with the correct tags from January 1 2021 – and added that the animals would also need the new EU Export Health Certificate showing the correct ISO country code and signed by an Official Veterinarian.

NFU Scotland Livestock Policy Manager John Armour said that while the union had published guidance on its website earlier this month, the biggest area of frustration was the need for re-tagging of animals going to Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, thousands of breeding ewe lambs in Scotland destined for the important trade to Northern Ireland could find themselves falling foul of new health regulations which also come into play when the transition arrangements end at the start of next year.

Current regulations mean that ewe lambs which have been purchased by buyers in the autumn cannot be exported until they are a year old and tests for the maedi visna virus have been passed – but additional health regulations which come into play when the UK leaves the EU mean that they will also need to be either accredited as free from the neurological disease scrapie or be of a non-susceptible genotype.

The ruling is, once again, a result of the Northern Ireland Protocol which treats exports to the region in the same manner as those going to areas within the EU – but while animals destined for immediate slaughter would not be caught up in the new regulations, those to be used for breeding would need to meet the new requirements before export to the region.

With strong links and frequent movements between breeders in Scotland and Northern Ireland – and only a small proportion of breeders involved in the seven-year Scrapie accreditation programme – the effects of the new health regulations could be dramatic for both countries, especially in breeds such as the Blackface sheep where thousands are exported annually.