The Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) (England) Order 2005

PART 2 Identification of animals

Identification of animals born after 9th July 2005

6.—(1) Every keeper must comply with Article 4(1)(first paragraph) and Article 4(2)(a) and (b) of the Council Regulation and this article.

(2) For the purposes of Article 4(1) of the Council Regulation, the time limits for identifying an animal are—

(a) 9 months from the date of birth, in the case of an animal kept in extensive or free range farming conditions; or

(b) 6 months from the date of birth, in the case of any other animal.

(3) The identification code for the first means of identification for the purposes of Section A.2 of the Annex to the Council Regulation is the following information, printed in the following order—

(a) the letters “UK”;

(b) the flockmark or herdmark of the flock or herd of birth; and

(c) a unique number.

Identification for animals moved from the holding of birth or holding of import within the United Kingdom

7.—(1) Pursuant to Article 4(2)(c) of the Council Regulation, the system to replace the second means of identification, other than for an animal involved in intra-Community trade, is the system in Schedule 1.

(2) The provisions of Schedule 1 apply in addition to the requirements of—

(a) Articles 4(1), 4(2)(a), 4(4), 4(5) and 4(6) of the Council Regulation and this Part of this Order;

(b) Articles 5(1), 5(3) and 5(5) of the Council Regulation and Part 3 of this Order; and

(c) Articles 6(1) and 6(3) of the Council Regulation and Part 4 of this Order.

(3) Schedule 1 also applies to animals born on or before 9th July 2005.

Identification for animals moved to another member State from the holding of birth or holding of import

8.—(1) In the case of an animal born after 9th July 2005 and involved in intra-Community trade, Schedule 1 does not apply, and the second means of identification specified in Article 4(2)(b) of the Council Regulation is an eartag or electronic transponder conforming to Section A.4 of the Annex to the Council Regulation.

(2) The second means of identification shall bear—

(a) an identification code identical to that applied to the first means of identification under article 6(3), in the case of an animal born in England, or article 10(3), in the case of an animal imported from a third country; or

(b) in the case of an eartag only, the letters “UK”, the flockmark or herdmark of the flock or herd of birth or import, a unique number and the letter “X”.

Animals intended for slaughter

9.  The identification method referred to in Article 4(3) of the Council Regulation and described in Section A.7 of the Annex to that Regulation shall not be used.

Identification of animals imported from third countries

10.—(1) A keeper must comply with Article 4(4) of the Council Regulation and this article.

(2) For the purposes of Article 4(4) (first paragraph) of the Council Regulation, the period for identifying an animal is 14 days.

(3) The identification code for the first means of identification for the purposes of Section A.2 of the Annex to the Council Regulation for animals imported from third countries is—

(a) the letters “UK”;

(b) the flockmark or herdmark of the flock or herd into which the animal is imported;

(c) a unique number; and

(d) the letter “F”.

Additional information

11.  In accordance with Section A.2 (second paragraph) of the Annex to the Council Regulation, at the keeper’s request—

(a) a manufacturer of approved eartags may add supplementary information to the eartag; and

(b) a manufacturer of electronic transponders may add supplementary information to the casing of the transponder,

provided that the supplementary information is distinct from the identification number and provided that the identification number remains legible at all times.

Removal or replacement of means of identification

12.—(1) No person shall remove or replace the original identification of an animal originating in another member State in contravention of Article 4(5) of the Council Regulation.

(2) No person shall contravene or fail to comply with Article 4(6)(first paragraph) of the Council Regulation.

(3) It is a defence for any person charged with contravening or failing to comply with Article 4(5) or 4(6) of the Council Regulation to prove that—

(a) a means of identification was removed to prevent unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal; and

(b) a replacement bearing the same code was applied to the animal as soon as possible.

Replacement of the means of identification with a different code

13.—(1) If the first means of identification on a single tagged animal becomes illegible or is lost while the animal is still on the holding of birth or holding of import and the keeper is otherwise unable to ascertain the original code on the identification, he must apply a replacement eartag bearing—

(a) the letters “UK”;

(b) the flockmark or herdmark of the flock or herd the animal is in when the eartag is applied;

(c) a unique number; and

(d) in the case of an animal imported from a third country, the letter “F”.

(2) If the first means of identification on a single tagged animal is discovered to be illegible or is lost on any holding other than the holding of birth or holding of import and the keeper is otherwise unable to ascertain the original code on the identification, he must replace it with an R tag.

(3) For the purposes of this article, a “single tagged animal” means an animal born after 9th July 2005 which has only a first means of identification in accordance with Article 4(2)(a) of the Council Regulation.