July 26, 2010

Canadian cattle gets identified with RFID ear tags

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has required all cattle to be marked with RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags if they are being moved from their location such as a farm.

The agency stated that the barcode must be left on the ear of the animal in addition to an RFID tag on the same animal. This procedure will help maintain all the information about the animal. The Canadian Livestock Tracking system will allow producers to cross-reference the identification number on the RFID tag with the barcode number.

Producers in Quebec are still permitted to leave both the barcodes as well as the RFD tags on the cattle.

Any cattle that arrived on pastures before July 1 do not need to be immediately retagged until December 31 and may be transferred to their home farm where and approved tag can be used.

However, if the animal is leaving the pasture to go somewhere other than its home farm, then an RFID-approved tag is immediately required before it moves.