Canada Tightens Livestock Tag Reporting

OTTAWA - Jul 5/05 - SNS -- Cattle identification tag distributors will be required to report sales to producers to the national database within 24 hours of the sale, while livestock producers must report all tags from deadstock, says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Producers need to report the tags from deadstock disposed of on the farm to the national CCIA database to ensure that the tag number is retired. Deadstock leaving the farm will also need to be identified and reported to the national database.

A number of previous exemptions have also been removed from the program. Producers will now be required to ensure all animals are tagged before they are moved to community pastures, fairs, or veterinary clinics. Auction barn owners will also now be responsible for ensuring that all lost tags on animals moving though their facilities are replaced.

The national cattle identification program is a critical component of the suite of measures that Canada has in place to protect human and animal health. This program assists the CFIA in monitoring the national herd and investigating diseases, such as the trace-out investigations of the North American cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) diagnosed since 2003.