Ewe with respected maternal traits
Tagging changes when exporting or moving livestock to the EU or Northern Ireland are now required.
The UK currently uses the identifier ‘UK’ in accordance with EU rules for Member States. Now in addition to displaying ‘UK’ we will also need to use a two-letter ISO country code which is ‘GB’
Where sheep are already double tagged
You should apply an additional (management) tag which displays ‘GB’ and the animal’s existing individual ID number. This tag should not be red or yellow.
Where sheep are newly identified OR are lambs identified with a single EID slaughter tag that are to be exported to the EU
You can apply a pair of UK tags (one of which must be electronic) which also display a GB suffix. These animals will not need an additional management tag given these tags contain the visual GB code.
You should confirm with the importer that your exported animals are identified by an acceptable method.
A replacement tag pair displaying the ‘GB’ suffix can also be applied where animals not intended for export which have already been identified with a UK tag pair have lost one or both of those tags. If the replacement pair is applied off the holding of birth that pair must be red tags.
For slaughter lambs because the new tags replace an existing identifier, they should both be red tags.
Exports and movements of livestock to the EU and Northern Ireland from Scotland and Wales from 2021 will be identified in the same way as those from England.
Livestock can continue to move from Northern Ireland to Great Britain using their UK tags.
For any exports from Northern Ireland to the EU, you will need to contact DAERA.
This guidance can be found on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exporting-animals-and-animal-products-to-the-eu-from-1-january-2021