The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is considering what role, if any, that cattle passports, known by many as ‘blue cards‘, will play in the future of the traceability system.
The department has confirmed to Agriland that it is planning to engage with industry stakeholders next year to discuss the possible ending of the requirement for bovine passports.
Over 2.5 million bovine passports were generated by the department in 2022.
Passports
Currently, when any bovine is being moved from a farm, it must be accompanied by a passport.
It is also the case that livestock marts and meat factories scan the bar code on the bovine passport to record the movement details on the department’s Animal Identification and Movement System (AIMS) after checking the ear tag number of an animal.
The department introduced mandatory electronic identification (EID) of cattle from July 2022 following a consultation process with stakeholders.
“This means that all bovines born on, or after, July 1, 2022 must be identified with two official identification tags, one of which contains an electronic component.
“The decision to move forward with mandatory electronic tagging of bovines was made to enhance and future-proof the bovine identification system,” a DAFM spokesperson told Agriland.
“In the coming years the proportion of the national cattle herd bearing EID tags will increase significantly.
“It is anticipated that some marts and slaughter plants will, in the near future, commence scanning EID tags using electronic scanners to record intake and movement details to AIMS,” they added.
EID tags
In January, the department launched a grant aid scheme for livestock marts to upgrade their facilities to scan and record cattle EID tag numbers.
The scheme, which is not mandatory, will provide grants to cover 40% of the cost associated with the installation of the new technology for marts.
In 2019, grant aid of 80% was provided to marts which availed of the sheep central points of recording scheme.
The department said that in line with the government’s digital strategy, which includes a reduction in the use of paper documents, it intends to hold a “stakeholder engagement process” in 2024 “to discuss the future role of passports in the Irish bovine traceability system”.
“Until the DAFM consultation with stakeholders has concluded, it is premature to comment further on any policy changes with regard to the issuance of bovine passports,” the department spokesperson added.
In 2022, the DAFM issued 2,444,033 passports related to the birth of bovines, this was up from 2,434,761 in the previous year.
The department produced 64,418 replacement passports last year; in 2021 that figure was 61,840.