Farmscape for May 19, 2005  (Episode 1812)

The Canadian Pork Council says a new national swine tattoo numbering scheme and registry will be up and running by the end of this year.

An analysis of the Canadian swine industries existing tattoo numbering system, conducted as part of the effort to develop a national ID and traceability system, revealed duplication of numbers being used in provinces and between provinces.

Canadian Pork Council ID and Traceability Working Committee Chair Dennis McKerracher says, in conjunction with the provinces, the CPC is developing a national tattoo registry that will eliminate the duplication and allow verification of system.

Clip-Dennis McKerracher-Canadian Pork Council 

Most of the hogs move in group or lot scenarios so the shoulder slap tattoo is the means of identifying the group or lot.

That tattoo number is connected to the premise.

Our whole system will run off a premise registry number.

The integrity of the tattoo number to the premise is the means of tracing and tracking the animal so we have to have integrity in those numbers.

As we are looking at the study that came out and seeing those duplicates, we're working with the provinces and we will eliminate those duplications.

We're looking at a system where each province, the first digit of the five tattoo digits will relate to the province and we will be doing some other allocations of numbers to provinces.

We will be allocate to each province a number set that they can issue new numbers from and so there will not be any duplication in province or between provinces.

McKerracher says the duplication of tattoo numbers hasn't caused any problems in the past but, for a nation's trading partners to accept its tracking system, the system has to be both auditable and verifiable.

He says, without the ability to prove the integrity of our tattoo numbering system, that could be difficult.

The new registry is expected to be up and running by the end of the year.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council