New Zealand comes closer to livestock tracing
23/02/2012
Primary industries minister, David Carter, has said that the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) Bill is a significant step in protecting farmers in the international marketplace and strengthening New Zealand’s biosecurity system.
The bill sets out the legal framework for the collection of information on livestock, their location and movement history throughout their lifetime.
Mr Carter pointed out that, under the proposals, cattle identification will start in July 2012, followed by the country's deer population in March 2013.
"With most other agricultural producing nations already having computerised tracing of individual animals, New Zealand simply cannot afford to lag behind," the minister said. "NAIT is effectively an insurance policy to support our high livestock health status and biosecurity infrastructure, but can be used to further improve productivity and on-farm management."
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