New cattle ear-tagging arrangements introduced for Southern exports

Herd-keepers are reminded that ear tagging requirements for export of Breeding or Production cattle intended for export to the south of Ireland will change from 4 March.

With effect from 4 March 2008, all Breeding or Production cattle intended for export to the South must be double tagged with 14-character ear-tags. These changes will not currently affect the export of slaughter cattle.

The appropriate tagging must be carried out on the farm of origin by, or under the direct supervision of, an Authorised Veterinary Inspector approved by DARD. It is essential to ensure that, where replacement tags are necessary, the new tags must be ordered before beginning the export process. The new ear-tag numbers should be quoted on the application form when applying for export paperwork from your local DARD office. This will ensure that ear-tag numbers quoted on the export health documentation correspond with the new 14-character tag number.

Please note that animals born before 1 January 2000 currently have ear-tags with the prefix 9 (country identifier) left out of the sequence. Any replacement tags ordered for these animals will be packed out to 13 digits and will also be eligible for export purposes.

All bovine animals exported locally must be accompanied by a valid health certificate and be officially identified in accordance with The Cattle Identification (No.2) Regulations (NI) 1998, as amended. Animals must also be accompanied by APHIS generated Passport(s) and MC2L movement licence(s). Exporters are reminded that all Passports must be signed and dated prior to export.

These new arrangements are being introduced in order to comply with the commercial requirements of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Dublin) and DARD is therefore introducing this change in order to facilitate trade. There are currently no changes for the export of local cattle to either Britain or other EU Member States.

DARD is reminding herd keepers that the manufacture of all ear tags, including replacement tags, can be authorised through an approved ear tag manufacturer or agent.

Notes to Editors:

1. DARD issued a previous Press Release advising that from 15 September 2007, an important change to the cattle ear tag numbering system was being introduced which affected herd numbers consisting of less than 6 characters. Effective from that date all new orders of cattle ear tags must be printed in a 14-character format. This requirement is also applicable to replacement tags. Replacement tags for animals born before 1 January 2000 require to be packed out to 13 digits.
2. Under the Cattle Identification (No 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 and the Cattle Identification (Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 a herd keeper is responsible for individually identifying each bovine animal in his herd with an approved ear tag applied to each ear.
3. This change is necessary in order to facilitate the export of Breeding or Production cattle from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland.
4. All media enquiries to DARD Press Office, Tel: 028 9052 4619. Out of office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 9971 5440 and your call will be returned.