COMMERCIAL farmers will have to get new ear tags for their cattle from October this year and the existing tags will be phased out.
The same ear tags will be introduced in the northern communal areas (NCAs) as a pilot phase from November 15, Agriculture Minister John Mutorwa said yesterday. By April 2011, the official tagging of animals in the NCAs with new ear tags will start there.’Animals will have to get a new ear tag for the right ear and an ear button or radio frequency (RFID) tag in the left ear, which can be scanned with an electronic device for quick recognition. The tag numbers are linked to a computer database under the Namibian Livestock Identification and Traceability System (NamLITS),’ said Mutorwa.The electronic buttons would facilitate rapid and accurate tracing of animals with regard to their origin and their movements, the Minster added. Eventually sheep, goats and pigs will also have to be tagged.The programme is materially and financially supported by the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).’Costs are estimated at around N$20 million for the N$2,5 billion meat industry of Namibia,’ said Permanent Secretary Andrew Ndishishi. In the NCAs the Ministry will supply the initial tags free of charge, but farmers will have to take their animals at their own cost to crush pens for registration and tagging. Mobile pens will also be available to State veterinarians on their field trips. Farmers outside the NCAs in what Minister Mutorwa called foot-and-mouth-disease-free areas – the rest of Namibia – must buy the new tags from the established suppliers, but these will be subsidised with N$5. Unused ‘old’ ear tags will be reimbursed at a rate of N$6.20 each. N$3 will be paid out when farmers replace the existing ear tags with new tags. In FMD-free areas farmers can start ordering the new ear tags from September 1 and the Ministry promises that the new tags will be available from October 1. The deadline for full compliance is May 31 2011.
