Livestock Paperwork: Registration, ID and Movement for Small Keepers

Why Small Keepers Have Paperwork Too

When a disease outbreak happens, officials need to know where every farm animal is and where it has been. That's why registration, identification and movement records apply to one pet pig or two pet goats just as they do to a farm. It surprises many new keepers, so sort it out before your animals arrive. The details below use England as the worked example; other countries follow similar ideas with their own systems.

England, Step by Step

1. CPH number: register the land with the Rural Payments Agency. It's needed for cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry kept for any purpose, pets included, and you can apply up to six weeks before animals arrive. It's voluntary for camelids such as alpacas.
2. Herd or flock mark: register as a keeper with APHA to get a herd mark (pigs, goats) or flock mark (sheep).
3. Identification: sheep and goats are tagged with approved tags; pigs must be tagged, tattooed or slap-marked before they leave your premises, even for a vet visit.
4. Movements: report movements on and off your holding (pigs through the eAML2 service, sheep and goats through the Livestock Information Service) and record them in your holding register.
5. Annual inventory: count and record your pigs, sheep and goats once a year.
6. Pet pigs on walks: walking a pig off your land needs a walking license from APHA.

Start at registering land for livestock, keeping sheep and goats and keeping a pet pig on gov.uk. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own systems and forms.

United States

• Zoning: city or county rules decide whether you can keep livestock at home and how many.
• State rules: your state department of agriculture or state veterinarian sets health, ID and movement requirements, including health certificates for crossing state lines.
• Scrapie ID: under the federal scrapie program, many sheep and goats need official identification when they leave your property or change owner. Ask your state veterinarian which rules apply to your animals.
• Pigs: food waste for pigs is regulated under the Swine Health Protection Act, and states set their own rules on keeping pigs.

Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand

All four have national livestock traceability systems with ear tags or other ID and movement records, run by CFIA and the provinces in Canada, the state and territory agriculture departments in Australia, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in Ireland, and the Ministry for Primary Industries in New Zealand. Contact them before you buy; they'll tell you which species and numbers are covered.

Medicine Records

Because farm species can enter the food chain, any medicine they're given must be recorded. In the UK, keepers of food-producing animals must keep medicine records for at least five years, and that includes pets of these species. Your vet will explain the withdrawal period for anything they prescribe. See our livestock health kit page.

Worming, parasite treatments and other medicines: see your vet or a pet supply store with trained staff. Farm animals are a food-producing species in law in many countries, even as pets, so treatments follow farm rules and need recording.

When an Animal Dies: Fallen Stock Rules

In Great Britain, burying or burning dead farm animals in the open is generally banned. The exemption for burying pets doesn't cover farm species such as sheep, cattle, pigs, goats and poultry, even when they were pets, so they must go by an approved route such as a licensed collector, knacker or incinerator. You pay for collection, and it should happen without undue delay (fallen stock on gov.uk). Pigs that die don't need reporting through eAML2, but other records may need updating.

Elsewhere, rules vary by country, state and council, so ask your agriculture department or local council. Your vet can usually help arrange collection.