Written answers
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Department of Agriculture and Food
Cattle Identification Scheme
4:00 pm
Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Question 168: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if cattle are microchipped rather than tagged; if there is a list of known tag switching; and if so, if he will provide a list of prosecutions made by his Department for this action. [44596/08]
Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovines and national legislation, it is obligatory to tag cattle. In addition each keeper of bovine animals is required to register a calf on the national Cattle Movement Monitoring System (CMMS) database within 27 days of birth. While there is no requirement for the micro-chipping or electronic identification of cattle, my Department is aware of a small number of farmers who, in addition to compulsory tagging, use electronic means of identification in the form of a rumen bolus for management purposes.
My Department adopts a very strict policy in relation to Ireland's cattle traceability system and conducts a range of checks to ensure compliance with tagging and registration of cattle for disease control and market reasons. To that end a number of animals (approximately 25) have been excluded from the food chain and destroyed due to tag tampering/tag switching during the last six months. There are a number of prosecutions pending in relation to further cases of suspected tag tampering. Officials from my Department have also seized a number of devices which have been modified for tag tampering purposes.
Details of successful prosecutions are listed in the following table:
Prosecutions taken by the Department for the past 5 years | ||
Name & Address | Offences | Year |
Geoffrey Kennedy, Orchard Lower, Timahoe, Co Laois | Pleaded guilty to 11 charges of possession of an ear tag which could be confused with an ear tag attached to or required to be attached to an animal contrary to Article 15(2)(a) of the Bovine Tuberculosis (Attestation of the State and General Provisions) Order, 1999 | 2004 |
Ivan Moffitt, Thornhill, Blacklion, Co Cavan | Pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of an animal with a tampered tag contrary to 19(7) of the Brucellosis in Cattle (General Provisions) Order 1991 (SI 114 of 1991 as inserted by Article 7 of the Brucellosis in Cattle (General Provisions) (Amendment) Order, 2001 (SI 229 of 2201). | 2005 |
Thomas Rice, Cormey, Kingscourt, Co Cavan | Pleaded guilty to 2 charges of tampering tags contrary to the 19(7) of the Brucellosis in Cattle (General Provisions) Order 1991 (SI 114 of 1991 as inserted by Article 7 of the Brucellosis in Cattle (General Provisions) (Amendment) Order, 2001 (SI 229 of 2001). | 2007 |
Maurice Herron, Derry, Latton, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan | Pleaded guilty to 2 charges of possession of an animal with a tampered tag contrary to the 19(7) of the Brucellosis in Cattle (General Provisions) Order 1991 (SI 114 of 1991 as inserted by Article 7 of- the Brucellosis in Cattle (General Provisions) (Amendment) Order, 2001 (SI 229 of 2001). | 2007 |
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