NZ Animals Not Yet Tagged

May 29, 2006: New Zealand farmers have put on hold the introduction of compulsory RFID tagging for cattle and deer till mid-2008. This, in spite of an October 2006 deadline!

By Naina Nair

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method that relies on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags. This tag can be attached to or incorporated into a product, animal or person. Ian Corney, chairman, pan-industry Animal Identification and Traceability Governance Group has been quoted saying that when the tagging system is set in place, farmers will be required to attach RFID tags to all cattle and deer so they can be identified using wireless scanners.

Each animal will be assigned with a unique code. This will be stored in a database alongside the animal’s details such as age, sex, breed, its owner, its herd of origin and the identification number of the property on which it is located.

The traceability system is apparently designed to ensure that authorities can respond better to bio-security incidents such as an outbreak of foot and mouth. It also claims to ensure that exporters meet requirements for the traceability of food items that are being imposed by the EU.

Corney has also added that New Zealand farmers have been fortunate in being able to learn from some of the issues encountered in US and Australia, where similar initiatives are under way. Notably, Australia implements the National Livestock Identification Scheme, which is the first and the largest implementation of RFID for animal tracking in the world, making it a pioneer user of RFID for animal tracking. (Source: Frost & Sullivan )

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