RFID Tagging of Cattle by Law in Australia

Farmers in New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia were required from July 1 2005 to electronically tag cattle so they can be tracked in the event of a disease breakout and to boost exports from Australia to other countries.

 

The NLIS was created to replace traditional tail tags with radio frequency identification RFID tags. This whole-of-life identification system permits individual animals to be tracked from birth to slaughter for food safety and product integrity.

 

With 70 per cent of Australia's beef product exported, the system will also help uphold overseas confidence in Australian beef and diary products. Australia exports beef to Japan and many other countries and the Japanese have been experimenting with RFID to track incoming beef for safety reasons.

 

The timeline for farmers in other states to fit cattle with a National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) device varies. Queensland farmers will have until 2007 to comply with the scheme.

 

In Tasmania, July 1 2005 was also the cut-off date for cattle to be tagged, but farmers have until July 1 2006 to ensure all cattle movements are recorded on the NLIS database.

 

In the Northern Territory a date will be finalised for NLIS compliance by the end of the year. The scheme has been mandatory in Victoria since January 1 this year.

 

The federal Government allocated $20 million in the 2005-06 budget for a four-year initiative to assist livestock producers with the NLIS. To help beef and dairy products to meet the NLIS requirements, AAPT has launched an integrated livestock tracker product.

 

For more read the new report "Food and Livestock Traceability" www.idtechex.com .

 

Attend the conference "Food and Livestock Traceability" Dallas Feb 1-2 2006 www.trackingfood.com .