Mandatory electronic ID of sheep not the answer

The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) has welcomed the federal government’s decision to oppose the mandatory electronic identification of sheep.

Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce last week warned an Agriculture Ministers’ Forum that “forcing electronic identification (EID) systems onto the entire (sheep) industry simply can’t be justified in the current environment”.

TFGA CEO Jan Davis said that a mandatory tagging system was not a cost effective way to keep track of livestock.

In Tasmania, there is strong industry support for the current visual mob-based National Livestock Identification Scheme (NLIS). While the state has a high ear tag compliance rate, less than one per cent of sheep and goat producers have electronic equipment such as tag readers and the compatible IT equipment. This also true for local sale yards and meat processing businesses.

“The added cost of EID would not produce any substantial industry benefit. We should instead be focussed on improving the current system,’’ Ms Davis said.

“We need to enhance our ability to trace animals and control disease outbreaks quickly. A decision-making process, aimed at rapid reporting and effective tracking, is more important.

“We believe that the current system is capable of meeting national traceability performance standards and, with over 50 million sheep movements already uploaded into the NLIS, is well placed to trace sheep in the event of an outbreak of a notifiable infection such as Foot and Mouth Disease,” Ms Davis said.

A copy of the Regulatory Impact Statement presented at the forum can be found at www.daff.gov.au/ABARES/Pages/National-Livestock-Identification-System
TFGA chief executive Jan Davis