Sheep identification second highest cause of cross compliance penalties

Sheep/goat identification and registration is one of 13 statutory management requirements (SMRs) set out under cross-compliance.

It is a significant contributor to cross-compliance penalties and is only exceeded by SMR 7: Bovine Identification and Registration.

The latest breakdown of cross-compliance penalties for 2019 shows that 6,149 full cross-compliance and animal identification and registration inspections took place, with 2,649 inspections recording full compliance.

Bovine identification and registration recorded 3,060 cases of non-compliance, while sheep/goat identification and registration recorded 435 cases of non-compliance.

Department analysis shows that tagging issues were responsible for 68% of 2019 non-compliances

Within this, 207 were classified as minor and did not receive any monetary penalty, with 228 cases receiving a monetary sanction.

Department analysis shows that tagging issues were responsible for 68% of 2019 non-compliances, with the remainder due to recording issues such as failure to maintain an up-to-date flock register or incorrect recording of movements.

Inspection process

A sheep/goat identification and registration inspection will focus on four aspects. The first is a count of all sheep on the holding. This will be cross-referenced with the flock’s annual sheep and goat census submission and will also be used to establish if movements in or out of the flock are being recorded sufficiently.

The count facilitates the second component of the inspection, which is an assessment of tagging.

The number of sheep missing one or two tags will be recorded.

Breaching thresholds will trigger a penalty, while sheep missing two tags can also have an effect on other schemes such as the Sheep Welfare Scheme.

Under the terms and conditions of this scheme, sheep found to be missing two tags in the case of an inspection cannot be used in the flock reference number calculation.

Movements must be recorded in the flock register and documentation must be held for at least three years

The final two components are a review of dispatch documents and upkeep of the flock register.

The inspection of dispatch documents will assess if these are being completed adequately or where tag numbers are being recorded via a central point of recording, such as a factory, that these are available and numbers listed correlate to the number recorded on the dispatch document.

Movements must be recorded in the flock register and documentation must be held for at least three years.

The Department advises that the review of the flock register will assess if an up-to-date inventory of animals on the holding is being maintained, movements are recorded and the count of the annual sheep and goat census is recorded.

The move to mandatory electronic identification for sheep leaving a holding leaves only two options to address lost tags.

Where an animal is missing a tag, a new tag with the specific tag number can be ordered.

Alternatively, the remaining tag can be removed and a new set of electronic identification tags can be applied with the tag change recorded and correlated in the flock register.