Scotland could avoid the need to change its numbering system for cattle tags, as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is in the process of devising a new international standard for animal identification.

It is hoped that the new rules will allow for a simple and straightforward numbering system, and avoid the need to re-number any of the allocated tags.

The current standard (ISO11784) is the reason that cattle electronic identification (EID) using low-frequency technology will require re-numbering of cattle across the UK, including in Scotland.

However, global recognition that ISO11784 is somewhat out-dated has prompted moves to replace it with a more flexible approach that also recognises recent technological advances, such as high-frequency tags.

Scotland is currently devising a pilot with farmers and marts to test electronic tags.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Work on the pilot is ongoing and there will be a progress update published on the ScotEID website in the next few months.”

Electronic tags for cattle have now been discussed for over 20 years.

In 2014, EU regulations came into place which would force member states to implement cattle EID by June 2019.

However, due to animal health regulations and challenges surrounding introduction of the new law, this is expected to be pushed forward to 2021.