New Rules for Identification.

NEW RULES FOR IDENTIFYING YOUR GOATS (Jan'08)

The Following is a short summary of how the new regulations concerning the identification of our goats affect members of the P.G.C.

This summary is intended for guidance only and is aimed at those of us who keep our animals simply as pets.

The legislation can be divided into three main areas:

          1. Tagging

          2. The Holding Register

          3. Movement Documents

1. TAGGING

          a) Animals born on or after 11^th January 2008 must have two identifiers, one in each ear. One must be a tag, the other can be a tag or a tattoo.

          b) Tags should be UK (holding of birth) types and contain your herd number and the individual animal number. The two tags for each animal have to be identical.

          c) Animals born before 11^th January 2008 only require one tag so long as they have been tagged before this date with a UK tag that contains an individual number.

          d) Animals still on the holding of birth which have not been tagged or were tagged before 2003 and, therefore, do not have an individual number on the tag, must have two new UK tags ( the original tag must be left in place). If not on the holding of birth two R tags should be applied.

          e) Lost Tags. Whether single or double tagged, if a goat on the holding of birth loses a tag and you know the original number then the tag can be replaced with a tag which has either an identical or a different number. If not on the holding of birth and you know the original number you can replace with identical or new tags obtained from the breeder of the goat. If you are unable to obtain replacements from the breeder you will need to replace with R tags.

All replacements should be recorded in …

2. THE HOLDING REGISTER

          The new register supplied by DEFRA (ref PB12913) is fairly self explanatory

          Section 1: contains space for details of your holding

          Section 2: provides space for recording details of          

           replacement tags

          Section 3: provides space for recording movement of

animals on and off the holding. It records movements for a 12 month period from 1^st December to 30^th November. You may be expected to produce this on an annual basis or on demand. Entries should be made within 36 hours of the movement taking place.

3. MOVEMENT DOCUMENTS (Animal Movement Licence)

          There appears to be little change in this area where we will be expected to complete the movement document for all journeys with the exception of visits to the vet. As before the white copy should be sent to the destination local authority within three days of the movement taking place.

The above regulations apply to England

As a result of devolution the other areas of the United Kingdom have been responsible for producing their own guidance booklets.

In Wales this is S&G Guidance booklet (V6) and it does contain some variations on the English model summarised above.

The main differences are:

1. The new rules in Wales apply from 22^nd January 2008. The date given in the guidance booklet is incorrect.

2. Pastern Marks. In Wales the option of using a pastern mark (ie a anklet above the pastern) as the second identifier has been given. However, no such anklets have been approved in the UK and it is, therefore, not possible to use this option. Dalton’s do produce a pastern anklet but it is removable and not tamper proof and will not be approved. Manufacturers are unlikely to go to the expense of developing such an anklet just for use by goatkeepers in Wales.

3. Sheep and Goat Record ( G/303/06/07    ISBN 0 7504 8957 X )

This is the equivalent of the Holding Register (England) but it does differ in layout. It has 4 sections.

          i) The outer cover provides space for details of the holding.

          ii) Section 2 is where you record your annual inventory of                                       

             animals as at 1^st January each year.   

          iii) Section 3 is for recording replacement tags.

          iv) Section 4 is where you record movements on or off the

               holding, including births and deaths. The final column in

               this section allows you to keep a running total of the

               animals on the holding.

It is vital that this record is kept up to date as, should you be inspected, this will be scrutinised. It will also be cross referenced with your Movement Licence Record ( ie the copies of the AML’s that you have sent to your local trading standards office and your duplicate copies).

In all other respects the English and Welsh Regulations are the same. I have had no sight of the Scottish or Northern Ireland Regulations so am unable to comment on these. I would be grateful if members in these countries would inform me of any variations so that we can publicise these in the June edition of ‘Notes’.

Finally, I would stress that these are a summary of the regulations compiled by Bob Prager and Peter Mercer after careful reading of the regulation booklets and consultation with Welsh Assembly Government Officers.

If you are in any doubt about any of these regulations as they apply to your circumstances please contact your regional office of DEFRA/ Welsh Assembly Government.