The AHB operates a compulsory ear tag identification programme for cattle and deer, to ensure that if stock are found to be infected with Tb, the source of infection can be traced.

All cattle and deer over one month of age, moving from their herd, must be identified with:
• A bar-coded primary ear tag and a secondary ear tag if being sold or moved to another herd or property.
• A bar-coded primary ear tag or a bar-coded slaughter tag if being moved directly to slaughter. Slaughter tags should only be applied within one month of slaughter.

Animals being moved to grazing are exempt from identification provided they remain under your day-to-day management and are not mixed with animals from other herds.

Missing primary or secondary tags should be replaced with bar-coded replacement tags with your own herd number. Alternatively, duplicate tags can be ordered for animals still resident in the herd where they were first tagged.
Tags can be ordered from most farm supply outlets. For details contact 0800 ID SCHEME (0800 437 243).

You may also choose to use the MINDA identification system operated by the Livestock Improvement Corporation. For details call 0800 2 MINDA (0800 264 632).

For detailed specification of the ID system, please click here