Electronic Tags For Sheep And Goats To Be Rolled Out Across Queensland

Individual electronic identification (eID) for sheep and goats will commence in Queensland from 1 January 2025 as a part of the agreed national initiative.

All states and territories have agreed to work towards mandatory implementation of sheep and goat eIDs, working alongside industry, to improve tracing and support an emergency animal disease (EAD) outbreak.

The current visual mob-based system is slower and not as accurate as individual electronic tags for tracing sheep and goat movements, particularly if there is an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

An eID is a device with a microchip inside, generally in an ear tag. This technology has been used successfully for cattle in Australia since 2005 and sheep and goats in Victoria since 2017.  

The national eID system has three elements to enable rapid contact tracing:

•    Each location having a property identification code (PIC).

•    Using an ear tag with a microchip inside to identify each animal.

•    Entering the necessary information for each animal into the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) database.

For more information visit https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/animal/nlis/sheep-and-goat-identification or phone 13 25 23.