Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 23 Feb 2000

Vol. 515 No. 1

Written Answers. - Cattle Traceability.

Enda Kenny

Question:

97 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the requirements necessary to provide effective traceability in the beef sector; if he will deal specifically with the issue of cattle tagging regulations, calf registration, cattle identity cards and passports, cattle movement and monitoring systems, bovine herd records and other records; if he has satisfied himself on the complexity and volume of records to be filled out by farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5406/00]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh):

The requirements necessary to provide effective traceability of cattle are that all animals must be properly identified and registered, have valid passports-identity cards, be entered on a herd register and all movements throughout their lives must be recorded.

In accordance with national and EU legislation, all calves born in a herd must be tagged within 20 days of birth – since 1 January 2000 – or sooner if being sold on, with plastic eartags in both ears. Details of the birth of each animal must be registered by completing the animal birth registration form and posting it to the Department's birth registration agency, Bandon, County Cork within seven days of tagging.

The animal birth registration agency will issue a passport to the owner-keeper following the receipt of a valid animal birth registration form. On receipt, the passport must be signed by the owner-keeper. The animal must be properly identified and be accompanied by its passport on each occasion it is moved and details of all owners-keepers must be recorded on this document.

In so far as the cattle movement monitoring system is concerned, the system is based for the most part on notification of movements at the main collection points for cattle, viz. livestock marts, meat export plants, local authority licensed abattoirs and approved export points. Individual farmers must notify my Department of private sales and purchases, inter-farm transfers and on-farm deaths. They also have an obligation to quote the correct herd number in respect of transactions at marts, slaughter plants and export points.

Details of all animals on the holding must be recorded in the on farm herd register and it must be kept up to date at all times. Details of births as well as all movements on to and off the holding must be recorded in this register. In addition, there is a section in the register to enable farmers to record details of treatments as required by the Animal Remedies Regulations, 1996. Under these regulations farmers are required to keep in a specified format a record of all treatments which are designated prescription only, or have a withdrawal period. The purpose of this record is to ensure that consumers of beef products are not exposed to harmful levels of medicines.

I am satisfied that all of these measures are necessary both to comply with EU legislation on identification and registration and to provide consumer assurance in regard to the traceability of an animal from birth and to ensure consumer confidence in the wake of the BSE crisis. While I appreciate that that the measures involve a number of forms and sets of records to be completed and maintained by farmers, I have sought to keep these to the minimum level possible within the constraints of the EU and national regulations.