Uruguay: government says no shift on traceability
19/08/2011
Originally, the government said it planned to have the system in place by the end of July this year. Towards the end of 2010, reports said 8.6 million head of cattle, out of a total herd of 11.2 million, had already been registered. Meeting the target would make Uruguay the first country in the world to offer traceability of its entire cattle herd.
In recent weeks, farmers have complained that animals they believe they have registered are being rejected at abattoirs because the system fails to recognise them, according to vets working there. This has led to calls from livestock farmers to lift or at least delay cattle traceability requirements, a request Mr Aguerre has rejected.
In a statement on August 17, the minister said: “There is no way we are going to go backwards on this. This is what sets us apart and it’s our biggest tool.”
He claimed that the details of all 11.2 million head of cattle have been capture on the traceability database, but that, in some cases, the data farmers had entered did not tally with the information on tags on cattle reaching slaughterhouses. He warned abattoirs and vets to expect discrepancies as the whole industry grows used to the system and suggested that livestock farmers check the readings on cattle that they are preparing to send to slaughter before they leave the farm to check that they are correctly registered.
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