A new system for electronic identification (EID) cattle tags in NI is likely to be compatible with systems which are also under development in both Britain and the Republic of Ireland (ROI).

DAERA Minister Edwin Poots has confirmed that his officials have held “regular discussions” with their counterparts in other UK administrations, as well as the Department of Agriculture in ROI.

“Officials across the UK and ROI all support the aim of achieving common standards for bovine EID,” he said in response to a written question from Ulster Unionist MLA Rosemary Barton.

In May 2020, DAERA said that a proposal to roll out electronic cattle tags across NI farms will be put to industry representatives later this year.

Initial steps for the introduction of bovine EID have already been completed by DAERA following a public consultation last year.

The exercise concluded that the last digit in an animal’s tag number in NI should be dropped to make tag numbers compatible with a new EID system.