Effective January 2021, all cattle will be required to have ear tags and corresponding passports. This announcement was made by Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, in his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, July 1.
Hutchinson said that all cattle owners have six months to access the free ear tags and passports for each head of cattle and noted that this is a part of the provision of the National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS) to curb cattle theft, control disease and ensure food safety.
The Minister informed that, to date, of the estimated population of some 76,000 cattle, approximately 50% or 38,000 have been tagged. He stated further that under the NAITS legislation, all cattle reared in Jamaica should have both ear tags and the corresponding passport to identify the animal and, there should be no movement of cattle from one location to the next without the ear tags and passports.
“The time has come for stricter enforcement of the animal identification and traceability system to ensure that the stamping and certification of meat from cattle are conducted in accordance with the law. Tag your animals, so we can keep them out of the hands of the praedial thieves,” he said.
He stressed that the ante-mortem verification of the animal is an essential aspect of the praedial larceny control programme as the Government moves to tighten the noose on cattle thieves.
He added that over the coming weeks, the Ministry, through its Veterinary Services Division, will be engaging the Ministry of Health and Wellness to collaborate with the public health inspectorate in strengthening compliance with the regulations and to ensure that no cattle meat is sold without the requisite checks and balances in accordance with the law.
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