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It’S Tag Time For Sheep And Goats

In January this year, the sheep and goat industries, with the support of State and Commonwealth Governments, agreed to introduce the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS).

By Department of Primary Industries - 23rd November 2006 - Back to News

The NLIS (Sheep & Goats) is Australia’s system for the identification and tracing of sheep and farmed goats. It is needed to enhance Australia’s ability to quickly and successfully contain a major food safety or disease incident, and to help maintain access to key export markets.

The system uses visually readable ear tags printed with a Property Identification Code (PIC), complemented by National Vendor Declarations (NVDs) supplied by consignors, for identification and tracking purposes.

The requirements for NLIS (Sheep & Goats) are summarised below:

•  All properties running sheep or farmed goats must have a Property Identification Code (PIC).
• Consignors must provide a NVD when dispatching sheep or goats of any age to a saleyard, abattoir or another property (with a different PIC).
• All sheep and farmed goats born after 1 January 2006 must be identified with a NLIS Sheep Breeder Tag before being dispatched to a saleyard or to another property.
• Consignors of sheep and farmed goats that are already tagged with a NLIS Sheep Tag must either record on their NVD all PIC’s printed on the NLIS Sheep Tags attached to the consigned stock, or attach a pink NLIS Sheep Post Breeder Tag to each animal
• Sheep and farmed goats consigned direct to slaughter "Over the Hooks" will be exempt from tagging, with this exemption scheduled for review in 2007.
• Sheep and goats born before 1 January 2006 will not need to be tagged until 1 January 2009. After this date, all sheep and farmed goats will need to be identified before leaving their property of consignment.

There are two types of visual NLIS Sheep Tags endorsed for the permanent identification of sheep and farmed goats:

NLIS Sheep Breeder Tags

These are colour coded for the year of birth with the colour for 2006 being RED. They must be used to identify sheep and goats that are still on their property of birth.

NLIS Sheep Post Breeder Tags

These are PINK and can be used to identify sheep and goats no longer on the property on which they were born, introduced animals that have lost their original Sheep Breeder Tag and sheep still on their property of birth, but born before 1 January 2006.

NLIS sheep tags can be attached to either the right or left ear, although trials indicate that fewer tags are lost at shearing when placed in the left ear.

Some commonly asked questions are:

What do I do when I want to sell sheep that I purchased (born after 1 January 2006) that are already NLIS identified?

1. You can attach a pink post breeder tag (with your PIC printed on it) to all of the consigned sheep and use your PIC on the NVD; or
2. You can list the PICs (from the previous owner/breeder) printed on the breeder tags already attached to the sheep, on the NVD that you would send with the consigned sheep. This option would work well if you have only purchased sheep from one or two different vendors. However, if you have purchase sheep from several vendors, then Option 1 could be a more suitable method.

Where do I get NLIS Sheep Tags?

NLIS sheep tags cannot be ordered through DPI. They can be purchased through your local rural merchandise outlet. There are currently seven manufacturers with tags, which have been approved for the NLIS (Sheep & Goats).

Are NVDs required when selling my sheep and goats?

Consignors must provide a NVD when dispatching sheep or goats of any age to a saleyard, abattoir or another property (with a different PIC). If you have a valid PIC, you can obtain Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) NVDs by phoning the LPA helpline on 1800 683 111 during office hours or by visiting www.mla.com.au/lpa

For further information on the requirements for NLIS (Sheep & Goats), call DPI’s toll-free helpline on 1800 678 779 during office hours, or visit DPI’s website at www.dpi.vic.gov.au. You can also pick up a brochure Your Guide to Victoria’s Sheep & Goat Identification Legislation at your local DPI office.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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