Sheep and goat ear tag welfare assessment: requirements
Published 3 August 2021
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The 3-month 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 3 months.
Number of animals to include for each batch of tags on each farm
Each batch must include at least 50 animals. The animals must stay on the holding where the assessment is being carried out. If the number falls below 50, Defra may request a further trial.
Location
It must take place on at least 2 farms with 1 batch of animals farmed on lowland and the other on upland.
Age of animals at start of assessment
The animals must be under 6 months old at the start of the assessment.
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 becomes 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 animal owner and the tag manufacturer should agree who will pay for replacement tags, before the assessment begins. It is the animal owner’s responsibility to make sure that their animals 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:
- 3 weeks after insertion
- 3 months after insertion
What happens next
At the end of the assessment, the vet must send you a report providing the information required in annexes A and B. The report must also include:
- the percentage of animals still displaying lesions at 3 weeks and 3 months after insertion (lesions should not exceed 5% at both inspections)
- a full clinical report, with photographs for any animals needing treatment or veterinary intervention after insertion (if not needed the report should state this)
- an assessment of ease of application of the ear tag and the suitability of the ear tag applicator
- a sample of the tag type used for the assessment
You need to send a copy of the welfare assessment report to: luis@livestockinformation.org.uk or:
LUIS Section
Rural Payments Agency
Curwen Road
Workington
CA14 2DD
If the LUIS support team are satisfied 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.
Annex A
Recording individual identification details
| Farm | Date | Tag number | Sex (M or F) |
Pre-Tag Lesions | Disease status of animal | Breed | Type of Husbandry | Tag Description | Tag Application Record (see below) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8) | (9) | (10) |
(1) Farm – Insert farm name (or CPH (country parish holding) number) and type of farm (lowland or upland).
(2) Date – Date of tagging.
(3) Tag number – Flock mark and individual no.
(4) Sex – (Male or Female).
(5) Pre-Tag Lesions – Is there is any damage to the ear or any lesion (spot/scab/bump/scar, etc.). For any animal showing any signs of lesions, a digital photograph should be taken of both sides of the ear, at the same angle to facilitate comparison during the assessment. A further photo should be taken at the next examination.
(6) Disease status of animal – Is there orf, sheep scab, staph.dermatitis, other or none?
(7) Breed – Breed of sheep/goat.
(8) Type of Husbandry – Indoors/outdoors/sheep netting in fields.
(9) Tag Description – Tag name and description:
- 2 piece flexible
- 2 piece rigid
- Metal loop
- Plastic loop
- Button
- Other
(10) Tag Application Record – Response to tagging. More than one can be selected:
- No reaction
- Slight flinch
- Head jerk
- Head shaking
- Head rubbing
- Vocal complaint
- Other (specify)
Annex B
Recording individual lesions at 3 weeks and 3 months
| Date | Tag number | Tag in Place (Y/N) | Lesion Assessment | Position in Ear (see key) | Hole Size (mm) | Fit Quality | Pulling or Deformation of ear | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8) | (9) |
(1) Date – Date of inspection
(2) Tag number
(3) Tag in place – Is the tag still in the ear? (Yes or No)
(4) Lesion Assessment: – For any animal showing any signs of lesions, a digital photograph should be taken of both sides of the ear, at the same angle to facilitate comparison during the assessment. A further photo should be taken at the next examination.
| Number | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | no lesion |
| 1 | small non reactive scab, no blood or discharge when touched |
| 2 | a band of red, ulcerated skin, with or without scab, no purulent exudate |
| 3 | a band of red, ulcerated skin, with or without scab, with purulent exudate, no swelling of surrounding tissues |
| 4 | a band of red, ulcerated skin, with or without scab, with purelent exudate, with swelling of surrounding tissue |
(5) Position in Ear – (See Annex C) CrB, CrM, CrT, MB, MM, MT, CdB, CdM, CdT
(6) Hole Diameter – Measure in millimetres
(7) Fit Quality – Is it loose, tight, neither?
(8) Pulling or Deformation of ear – Is it pulling on the ear or causing deformation of the ear margin?
(9) Other information
Annex C
Description of Ear Tag Positioning
CrB - Cranial base
MB – Middle base
CdB – Caudial base
CrM - Cranial middle
MM – Middle middle
CdM – Caudial middle
CrT - Cranial tip
MT – Middle tip
CdT – Caudial tip