Objectives of the Unit

• Disease surveillance and eradication on bovine and small ruminant farms;
• Identification and registration of bovines and small ruminants;
• Movement notification and recording of animals between farm premises;
• Hygiene inspections of dairy and other ruminant farms;
• On-the-spot checks of herds on dairy and ruminant farms to assess compliance with Identification and Registration regulations.

Disease surveillance

One of the main roles of the department of Animal Health and Welfare is the ongoing process of the testing of livestock for various diseases including zoonoses, animal diseases which are transmissible to humans, such as Brucellosis and Tuberculosis.

Animal identification and registration

Individual Animal Identification and Registration is at the basis of all disease eradication programmes. It is also the only tool which permits traceability of animal products to the farm of origin.

Bovine Identification

Until the year 2002, all bovine animals were identified with metal tags. However, as from April 2002, ear tagging with plastic tags commenced thus conforming with Council Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000. The tagging is performed by staff of the Food and Veterinary Regulation Division. Farmers must notify the birth of calves by seven days of age. This allows the veterinary staff to tag these calves by twenty days of age. Farmers must also report to the Division any losses of ear tags as soon as possible, so that a new ear tag with the same number may be ordered and re-applied.

Sheep and Goat Identification

The ear tagging of sheep and goats has taken place since the 1980's and was fundamental for the eradication programme of Brucellosis in these animals. All sheep and goats were tagged with two plastic ear tags, one on each ear, bearing a five-digit number. The two ear tags did not however bear the same identification number, and ear tag losses were replaced with a tag bearing a different identification number. This was ideal for keeping track of animal identification on short term, such as is necessary for the testing of Brucellosis, but is not compliant with the lifelong traceability of the animal.

As from July 2005 all sheep and goats are tagged with two plastic ear tags in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 21/2004. As for bovine identification, two ear tags bearing the same seven-digit number are applied one to each ear of the ruminant. The last digit acts as a check digit. If an ear tag is lost this must be replaced with another tag bearing the same identification number.

Animal movements

Before the movement of bovines, sheep and goats between farm premises can occur, the owners of the animals must obtain a Movement Permit from the Department of Animal Health and Welfare. This system allows the Department to authorize the movements of animals according to the disease status of farms as well as to know the current location of bovines and small ruminants.

A producer is able to transport the animals listed on the movement permit in the seven-day period following its issue. A movement report is then signed by both seller and buyer with the date and time of movement. This report is then brought back to the department so that the movement will be recorded in the National Livestock Database.

Farm Inspections

Another role of the Animal Health division is to carry out inspections on farms in conjunction with the Animal Welfare section and the Integration Administration Control System (IACS) section. Milk hygiene inspections are carried out on dairy farms focusing mainly on the milking parlour and the dairy where the milk is stored prior to transport to the Dairy Plant. The general hygiene of the whole farm is also assessed.

On-the-spot controls are carried out in conjunction with the IACS team. A total census of the herd is taken and this is compared with the information present on the National Livestock Database and the herd register on farm. A minimum of 10% of farms are inspected each year and chosen on a risk assessment basis. Herds which do not pass such inspections are not eligible to premiums granted by the EU.

Contact Persons:

Dr Sergio Fiore (Disease Surveillance)
Telephone Number: 356 25905359/360
Email:

Mr Joseph Zammit (Animal Identification & Registation)
Telephone Number: 356 25905354/373
Email: