Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 June 2018
205. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if, in cases in which a person purchases untagged goats, the purchaser can have the goats tagged without obtaining a dispatch docket from the seller; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27206/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe rules regarding the identification and movement of goats are determined by Council Regulation 21/2004, as transposed into national legislation via S.I. 792 of 2005 (as amended). These rules are implemented through the National Goat Identification System (NGIS) which provides that any person keeping goats must firstly register the holding on which the goats are to be kept with my Department and must obtain a herd number. This is done through my Department's regional office network.
All goats kept are required to be tagged by 6 months of age or on leaving the holding of birth, which ever is soonest. When goats are being sold, the selling keeper must complete a NGIS dispatch / movement document on which the individual tag numbers of the goats are listed. One copy of this document must be retained by the selling keeper and another given to the purchaser. These must be retained by both parties for record keeping purposes. It is not permitted to purchase goats without the holding, on which the animals are to be kept, being registered with my Department.
It is an offence to keep a goat on a holding that is not registered with my Department. Similarly, it is an offence to keep a goat that is not properly identified or to move a goat without completion of a dispatch document, which must accompany all goats on movement.
A famer may consult the Department publication "The National Goat Identification System (NSIS) - A Step by Step Guide" which explains the rules that farmers must comply with for goat identification and movement. This publication can be accessed on the Department's website.
