WINDHOEK – During the past few months various cases concerning verification issues of animal ear tags were received at Meatco, and the company has summarised a few important facts and procedures regarding the ear tags of animals.
- Know your herd identification number. This number appears on any permit that involves your farm and your stock brand. Please make sure that the herd ID is correct. Should this number by any chance be different from the one you know, it will indicate changes to your set of data. The herd identification number derives from the following:
Farm name + stock brand = herd identification number.
- Each farm or position of land has its own establishment number. This number together with your stock brand number creates the herd identification number.
- Each farmer or livestock keeper will have his/her own identification number. This number will not change, irrespective of where you farm or how many stock brands you have.
- The possibility of mistakes with regards to entering data into the NamLITS system exists, either by human error or by technical shortcoming. Irrespective of the sequence of events in the registration process of animals onto the NamLITS system, the farmer needs to verify his herd information from time to time just before loading animals to an approved Meatco abattoir.
- The NamLITS data base is a live database. There is a constant movement of data in and out of the database. This includes adding new ear tag numbers or removing them, changing ear tag numbers, linking ear tags numbers to new establishments, creating new herd identification numbers, just to mention of few. In order to have control over your herd data, regular checks are therefore important to be conducted by livestock producers.
- Loading animals to any export abattoir will require the verification of animals before loading them. Besides your herd identification number, animals must be compliant with the 90/40 days stipulation. Animals not showing any days in the 40 days column, indicates that these animals are not linked to your present establishment. Various faults could be the reason behind it. These numbers must first be investigated with NamLITS and corrected before loading these animals for any reason for transportation, even just between farms.