Cattle ear tag welfare assessment: requirements
Updated 10 March 2023
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The 21-day welfare assessment is the second stage of the tag approval process and involves live welfare testing.
The Livestock Unique Identification Service (LUIS) support team will tell you if you can move to welfare testing, if the assessment of tags and applicator (the first stage of the ear tag approval process) is successful.
If you submit a range of tags with the same fixing mechanism, the LUIS support team will assess if each type of tag needs a welfare assessment.
What you need to do
You must get a welfare assessment supervised by a vet at 2 farms. You are responsible for all costs relating to the welfare assessment.
You will need to make sure your welfare assessment meets the following requirements:
Period of assessment
The assessment must take place over 21 days.
Number of animals to include for each batch of tags on each farm
Each batch must include at least 25 calves. The calves must stay on the holding where the assessment is being carried out. If the number falls below 25, Defra may request a further trial.
Location
It must take place on at least 2 farms, with:
- 1 batch of calves farmed intensively (kept in enclosed buildings or yards)
- 1 batch farmed extensively (with access to pasture)
Age of animals at start of assessment
Calves included in the assessment must be less than 20 days old and tagged within 20 days of birth.
Ear tag numbers
Use the herd mark of the test farm and the next available batch of numbers. The assessment tags will take the place of the official tags for the duration of the assessment. They can remain in the animal’s ears if the tag is approved.
If the tag has already been approved for use in an EU member state, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man, the LUIS support team may be able to approve it for use in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) without further testing.
You will need to submit details of the welfare testing that has been carried out in the other country. If this is insufficient, the LUIS support team may request a further welfare assessment in Great Britain.
Lost and replacement tags
Assessment tags will replace the official tags for the duration of the assessment. They can remain in the animal’s ears, if the tag is approved.
If the assessment tag is not given full approval, it may need to be removed by a vet and replaced with an official tag with the same information.
Tags that fall out during the assessment should only be replaced with official tags with the same unique number.
The cattle owner and the tag manufacturer should agree who will pay for replacement tags, before the assessment begins. It is the cattle keeper’s responsibility to make sure that cattle are permanently tagged with official tags. Defra is not liable for this cost.
Veterinary assessment by the same vet
The tags being assessed must be inserted under the supervision of a vet, at your own cost. The same vet must examine the animals again 7 and 21 days later.
What happens next
At the end of the assessment, the vet must send you a report including:
- details of the farm with a description of the environment and husbandry systems in which the calves were kept
- an assessment of discomfort and pain at insertion, and a description of the immediate damage (lesions) caused to the ear
- details of the behaviour at insertion and in the post insertion period (for example, ear rubbing, shaking, vocalisation)
- assessments of discomfort, pain and a description of any lesions at both 7 and 21 days after insertion (any lesions should be photographed on both sides of the ear, at the same angle, for comparison at both assessments)
- a full clinical report, with photographs, of any calf needing treatment or veterinary intervention after insertion (if none are needed the report should state this)
- any other relevant observations found during the assessments
- a sample of the tag type used for the assessment
Send a copy of your welfare assessment report to:
LUIS Section
Rural Payments Agency
Curwen Road
Workington
CA14 2DD
Email: luis@livestockinformation.org.uk
If the LUIS support team are content with the results of the welfare assessment, they will tell you that you can move on to the Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) testing. You will receive a letter or email to confirm this.