Which is an animal's left ear?

That question has proved so taxing the National Animal Identification and Tracing scheme has decided new compulsory tags can be fitted to either ear.

NAIT operations manager Tony Corcoran told the Bay of Plenty Federated Farmers provincial conference last month that specifying tags should be placed only in an animal's left ear was deemed too confusing.
'Farmers asked: which is the left ear – the one on the animal's left side or on the left as you look at the animal?”
The NAIT scheme comes into force for cattle from July 1 this year and for deer from March 1, 2013. It is designed to assure New Zealand's overseas markets that a livestock disease can be quickly contained in the event of any biosecurity incidents.
NAIT Ltd is the industry-owned company responsible for implementing the NAIT scheme for cattle and deer, designed to link people, property and livestock. Its shareholders are Beef + Lamb New Zealand, DairyNZ, and Deer Industry New Zealand.

Added value

Tony said the scheme could add value to farmers by making available information on the condition of their livestock at slaughter. He said farmers should ask meat processing companies to use the tag system to give them individual carcass reports.
'Some (processors) don't want to do that but the technology means they can.”
Farmers didn't need to purchase the tag readers but may find being able to read and record the information contained on the electronic tags was an advantage to their operation.
Tony said every person in charge of animals at a given location must register with NAIT to get a NAIT number, which is different from an Animal Health Board number or dairy participant code.
'Any properties within 20 kilometres, as the crow flies, of each other where the same person is in charge of animals can be registered under the same NAIT number.”
Existing stock have a three-year grace period before they need to be tagged with NAIT approved tags, unless they are being moved off the farm.
Newborn animals must be tagged with approved tags within 180 days of birth or before their first movement to another NAIT number.

Exceptions made

There are some exemptions from applying tags and these include bobby calves going direct to slaughter, which will continue to have the tags issued by meat processing companies.
Animals which were considered impractical to tag but already have AHB barcoded primary tags and were being transported directly to a meat processor did not need to be tagged but would incur a levy of $13 per head plus GST.
Animal movements to NAIT-accredited meat processors and sale yards will be recorded by those organisations on behalf of farmers.
However, farm to farm movements such as private sales or animals sent for grazing must be recorded by the person in charge of the animals.
For more information, phone 0800 624 843 or visit www.nait.co.nz