Jiglu: Farmtalking: Discussion: Re: Latest earmarking/movement news affecting goats.

Originally from: Mary Critchley

Eartagging....How quick the British are to collude in their own destruction out of a depressingly misplaced confidence in the "authorities". But what is even more depressing is that it's the animals who suffer first.

Take a step back and just think about what DEFRA sound like with their utterly obnoxious rules and regulations.....

DEFRA and SEERAD have agreed that the following is acceptable:
One ear: the six digit Herd Number e.g.123456
Other ear: A modified registration earmark, with the numbers first, will be accepted as the goats' individual number, the presence of letters after the number is permitted. E.g. instead of a BGS earmark of ABC10R, you must put 10ABCR. 10 will then be the official individual number of that goat. An individual number is needed for showing, selling on twice, export, breeding movements' etc. This system avoids the need to put two rows of tattooed digits in a kid's ear.
However, if you are taking a bought-in goat to a show, which is legally not tattooed with the breeder's Herd Number (because of its age), it should be marked with an "S", followed by your Herd Number, followed (if the other ear is already tattooed with, say a BGS earmark with letters in front) by an individual number. This would involve two tattooing operations, or a tag. Heil Defra......

Mary at warmwell