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Metal ear tags phased out CFIA will recommend revoking the tag as identifier
by BARBARA JOHNSTONE GRIMMER
LANGLEY – Canadian sheep farmers and ranchers should prepare for the immediate removal of the Ketchum Kurl-Lock tag as an approved tag under the Canadian Sheep Identification Program (CSIP) as early as the end of October. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will recommend revoking the pink metal Ketchum tag in an upcoming meeting of national identification program administrators, stakeholders and government representatives. The Canadian Sheep Federation (CSF) recently voted to support the tag’s revocation on the recommendation of the CSIP Working Group. “As we begin to prepare for new traceability regulations expected to come into effect in the next 18 to 24 months, the board felt it was time to revoke the tag,” says CSF chair Phil Kolodychuk, adding, “We encourage producers to
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check their stock as they sell them to make sure they are compliant with the changes to the ID program once the pink Ketchum Kurl-Lock tag is revoked.”
The pink metal tag has been an approved identifier since CSIP became part of the Health of Animals Act in 2004. It was preferred at the time because it was inexpensive, but it was difficult to read. In 2011, it was decided to phase the pink tags out of the national ID program and they were no longer offered for sale because there were more readable tags available. Since that time, producers have been encouraged to use up their stock of pink tags and were informed that the tags would be eventually revoked and no longer accepted as an approved identifier. The official announcement on the status of the pink Ketchum Kurl-Lock tag is expected in early October.
Until the pink Ketchum tag
is revoked, producers may continue to ship animals with pink tags. After the revocation date is set, animals shipped that have a pink Kurl- Lock tag must also have an
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approved tag in place. Producers must not remove a pink Ketchum tag from a sheep, even after the tag is revoked. While this may cause a problem down the road with RFID tags (a tag reader could pick up two signals), it is illegal to remove an approved identifier – even if it has been revoked – to preserve the tracking capabilities in the event of a disease/traceback investigation. As livestock sectors move
towards a traceable system throughout the country, it will be necessary to accurately read the tags as livestock are moved and movements reported to a database. In 2010, the Canadian sheep industry moved towards electronic RFID tags to ease the collection and analysis of information. Yellow Shearwell and Allflex RFID tags provide electronic options for producers. Currently the pink plastic Allflex dangle tag will remain CSIP-approved and provide a non-electronic, easy to read option for producers who prefer a non-RFID tag. For more information, visit the CSF website
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WEANING weights nfrom page 25 “I don’t doubt we will see a
going to be lighter,” says McGillivray. Lack of weight will also
have an impact on a cow’s fitness to breed.
reduced pregnancy rate in some of these herds as their body condition will have dropped back,” says McGillivray. “They also could have wandered off away from the bulls.” Those cows will go into winter in a little lower body condition and won’t be as good in 2018 either, he says. “Likely some of these ranchers will have to put their cows on to new ranges as well,” McGillivray adds. While burned out ranges will be really good forage in three years, there won’t be much there next year, he explains. “Cows take a while to get accustomed to a new range,” McGillivray says. “So there will be an adjustment for the ranchers to train the cows where to find grass and water and for the bulls to find the cows. There will be some fallout next year as well.” “The thing that I was most
proud of in the last fire was the concern that ranchers had for the welfare of these animals,” McGillivray concludes. “If they were thin, in pain, sore footed or burned, they didn’t want them to suffer and they put them down immediately.”
BCID Fund
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • OCTOBER 2017
Difficult to read, the pink metal tags used by sheep producers are being phased out. CANADIAN SHEEP FEDERATION PHOTO
[
www.cansheep.ca]. For information on approved identifiers for all regulated species, visit the CFIA website [
www.inspection.gc.ca]. To report information to the CSIP database, including the
application of a new tag to an animal with a pink metal Ketchum Kurl-Lock tag, producers should access their online account at [
www.clia.livestockid.ca] or call 877-909-2333.
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