Defra

You are here: Home > Food and Farming > Farm animals > Livestock identification and movements > Goat identification and movement

Goat identification and movement

Individual recording for goats (and sheep) intended to be kept beyond 12 months of age, and electronic identification (EID) for individually recorded sheep was introduced on 31 December 2009. EID does not apply to goats because the UK herd is below the EU population threshold for compulsory EID. Goat keepers may use EID if they wish to, in which case they should follow the same rules for sheep.

Plain English guidance on the identification and movement of sheep and goats can be found on the Business Link website.

What keepers have to do

Identification Tag within 9 months of birth (6 months if kept housed overnight), or before they leave the holding of birth if sooner.
Breeding animalsDouble tag (EID optional)
KidsOne batch tag – (EID optional)
A list of approved UK tags is on the RPA Website
Holding register Keep a separate register for each holding (each CPH)
  • Record movements of animals born from 2010 – individually – unless identified with a slaughter tag
  • Double tagged animals born before 31 December 2009 continue to be batch recorded in the holding register
Record details of replacement tags, and cross reference if appropriate.
Movement document (AML1) Complete one each time animals move to a different holding (CPH)
From 1 January 2011 include individual tag numbers for animals born from 2010 – unless they have a slaughter tag.
From 31 December 2011 include individual tag numbers for animals born before 2010 – unless moving direct to slaughter.
Movements within a farm business (no change of keepership) To land within 5 miles of main holding and with same CPH - No need to record (in the register) or report (on a movement document)
To land with a different CPH Record on a batch basis for all goats – if – the keepership or ownership is unchanged otherwise they must meet the reporting requirements from the above dates if individually tagged.
To adjacent land with a different CPH If moving frequently to/from the different CPH, on foot, without mixing with other livestock – record the CPHs and frequency of moves in the holding register only.

Key publications

Sheep and goat holding register

To protect the health of your livestock and to make it easier to trace your animals, you must keep a register of the animals on your holding. This register holds information about your holding, tags and replacement tags, and all movements of sheep and goats.

Pet goats

Keepers of one or two farm animals as pets must comply with animal movement legislation. The land on which such pet animals are kept must have a CPH number (County/Parish/Holding) obtained from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).  For keepers who keep the animals as pets and do not take part in any of the schemes administered by the RPA for which they make payment, registration can be completed over the phone by calling the RPA customer registration helpline: 0845 603 7777.

Sheep/Goat Identification Annual Inspections

Unannounced farm inspections are carried out to check keepers are complying with the identification and record keeping requirements. They cover:

  • 3% of registered sheep and goat holdings comprising at least 5% of sheep and goats.
  • holdings are selected by risk analysis, the criteria for which are set out in EC Regulation 1505/2006.

An report on the results is sent to the Commission by 31 August each year. Recent results are:

Further background on the inspections is included at Section 11 of the guidance for keeper’s booklet and can also be found on the Business link website.

Sheep and Goat Annual Inventory

Keepers are required to keep an annual inventory in their holding registers and complete an annual inventory form sent to them in late November. Summary details of all sheep (including rams and lambs) and goats under the farmer’s keepership must be recorded on this document. Failure to send the form back will result in an increased risk of an on farm inspection in future years.  The purposes for which the Inventory data is used are set out in full in a data protection statement (PDF 470 KB). For further information on the inventory call 01904 455284 or email surveys@defra.gsi.gov.uk.

Legislation

Regulation made by the EU Council and Parliament

Council Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 was adopted in 2003. It is the principal piece of EC legislation on the identification and registration of goats (and sheep).

Concessions were secured to defer the requirement for individual recording of individually identified animals in the holding register until 2010, and on movement documents until 2011.

UK legislation

The requirements are enforced in England through:

The Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) (England) Order 2009

UK Devolved Administration’s equivalent legislation is available on the Government’s Legislation website.

Facts and figures

The UK national herd is 93,000 (an increase of 13.6 % from 2009).

Page last modified: 29 July 2011