Vol. 558 No. 3
82 Mr. P. Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if a registration form will be processed for an animal in the herd of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24186/02]
In accordance with EU and national regulations on the tagging and registration of bovine animals, calves must be tagged within 20 days of birth and registered within seven days of tagging. The purpose of these deadlines is to ensure that the identity, origin and age of calves are recorded accurately on the national cattle database. Prior to acceptance of applications for calf birth registration that are submitted 60 days after the date of birth, the keeper is requested to obtain corroboration from a veterinary practitioner as to the age and identity of the animals concerned and to submit this statement of corroboration to the local district veterinary office.
In the case in question, on 30 August 2002 application forms for registration were received from the keeper by the Calf Birth Registration Agency in respect of eight animals whose dates of birth ranged between 1 May 2002 and 29 June 2002. The keeper was requested by letter to obtain confirmation from a veterinary practitioner as to the identity and age of the animals and to submit this confirmation to the local district veterinary office. To date, the confirmation has not been received with the result that the registration of these animals cannot proceed.
