No means of identification may be removed, modified or replaced without the permission of the competent authority. Such permission may only be granted where the removal, modification or replacement do not compromise the traceability of the animal and where its individual identification, including the holding on which it was born, is possible.

Any replacement of an identification code shall be recorded in the computerised database provided for in Article 5, together with the unique identification code of the original means of identification of the animal.