Australia to introduce mandatory sheep and goats with electronic identification

It will be mandatory in Australia for farmers to tag sheep and goats with electronic identification tags from January 1, 2025.

The electronic identification EID tags are already used in cattle across Australia, but Victoria is the only state where it is mandatory for sheep and goats.

A meeting of agriculture ministers earlier this month agreed to set the deadline for the important reform. It is expected to improve traceability in the event of a livestock disease outbreak.

The communique from the meeting stated that ministers agreed to work together with industry to implement national individual identification for sheep and goats in each jurisdiction by January 1st, 2025.

The officials will report back to ministers on matters relating to implementation and governance arrangements. EID sheep tags are selling for more than $2 per tag, while conventional tags used in mob-based tracing are retailing for as cheap as 26 cents a tag.

The New South Wales and federal governments had held out against individual sheep tags for more than six years, while Victoria moved ahead independently in 2016.

The move was criticised as too expensive by then federal agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce.

The introduction of the EID tags for sheep and goats in Victoria was aided by the state government.

After an outbreak of foot and mouth disease FMD in Bali earlier this year, the NSW government agreed to support the introduction of mandatory EID.

If graziers didn't follow the EID mandate, they wouldn't be able to sell livestock, according to NSW agriculture minister Dougald Saunders.

If it is mandated, you will not be able to sell if you're not part of the process. He said it was as simple as that.

WoolProducers' chief executive Jo Hall said the 2025 deadline was ambitious and that a lot of work was happening behind the scenes with industry and government.

He said that the mandatory EID for sheep for biosecurity purposes is contingent on three things: It's a national database, a national harmonised approach and equitable cost-sharing between industry and government for the establishment and maintenance of the scheme.

This is about traceability reform, not just sticking a tag in an earlobe, because there is far more work to do to ensure a robust system. In western NSW, the president of the Pastoralists Association of West Darling Terry Smith said EID was not necessary and that the system posed a huge work and safety risk.

The processors and the producers and exporters are happy with the arrangement, he said.

The tagging system could prevent a disease outbreak, but Mr Smith was already dreaded about it.

It won't prevent the outbreak, it may make traceability quicker if there is an outbreak, but it won't prevent it, he said.

I mean that will happen whether or not the animals have an electronic tag. It is difficult for people living in remote areas who may not be equipped to do electronic tagging, according to Smith.

In February 2020, a major review of Australia's meat sector by the industry and government group SafeMeat recommended that all livestock be fitted with EID by the year 2025.

SafeMeat advisory group chairman Andrew Henderson told the ABC that the ability to quickly trace livestock was key to reassuring trading partners that Australian meat was safe.

There are about 70 million sheep in Australia.