Comment

THERE have been a couple of important changes in BCMS procedure that will affect those of us who keep cattle.

Firstly for any animal that is on a 'NOR' (Notice of Registration) rather than a full passport, the option is now available of having a DNA test to prove its identity.

What you must always remember is that the core role of BCMS is a veterinary tracing database. The subsidy cross checking and other work was imposed upon it later, 'because it was there and they could'. Given the worry about TSEs, one of the primary aims of BCMS is to link offspring to dam so that if BSE 'vertical' transmission ever became a major issue, the offspring of infected mothers could be rapidly hauled out of the food chain. Given the efficiency with which the 'cohort cull' can be implemented, BCMS has got this system to work. Once you take this factor into account the insistence that calves be ear tagged within a certain number of days of birth, to reduce the possibility of the wrong calf being credited to the wrong cow becomes more understandable. In its enthusiasm to ensure the accuracy of the database, BCMS introduced penalties for late passport applications that most of the industry regarded as draconian. So draconian indeed that BCMS lost industry 'buy in' at this point as farmers could not see the rational behind having to kill a healthy (but now worthless) bull calf just because the post was a day late. This probably led to more degrading of the database rather than less.

Late applications

The problem seems to have hit a steady state, late cattle passport applications have fallen as low as 0.5% which seems to be an irreducible minimum, the noise in the system. These late applications are made up of genuine error, crass incompetence and unintended oversight.

Even so this means that there are still several thousand extra cattle a year without passports, and there were approximately 30,000 of these animals on NORs. Because some were male animals of no value without a passport, but could be worth over £600 with a passport, the danger was that they would be illegally massaged into the food chain, bringing the system into disrepute (For those of you who have been spared contact with the cattle passport system, a farmer whose cattle passport application was received late received not a passport for his animal but a Notice of Registration or NOR. The animal could live, any offspring could be registered normally on the database, but that animal could not enter the food chain and could only move under very limited circumstances. Effectively if male it had no value and if female was considerably devalued).

BCMS took the opportunity offered by a routine update of regulation to allow us a partial way out of this problem.

From April 6, any farmer whose application is received late will still be issued with a NOR, but will be informed that they can, if they wish, have the animal and its dam DNA tested. If the DNA test shows that the animal is the offspring of its declared mother, a full passport will be issued. You can see how this links back into the importance the BCMS attaches to knowing the links between dam and offspring.

Disadvantages

'Retrospective' DNA testing will be allowed so if you have an animal two years old on a NOR, and its mother is still alive, you can ask for a DNA test. The test samples must be taken by a vet and the test done in an approved laboratory.

This isn't a cheap hobby, but the labs tend to batch DNA samples up and test them all at once to keep the cost down. Figures quoted within the industry show that the lab can charge as little as £15 but if you stress urgency, it can be as much as £100. What your vet charges is between you and them.

There are disadvantages, if the test comes back saying that the cow is not the mother of the calf then BCMS will consider themselves obliged to run checks to try and find out just how many other misattributions of parentage you have (remember again the importance BCMS attaches to the firm link between mother and offspring.). This could be expensive in time alone for the keeper involved.

It should be pointed out that one of the biggest problems is the passport application being delayed in the post. It is far cheaper to get a certificate of posting, free, from the post office, when you post your application, rather than go down the DNA testing route. If your certificate of posting shows that you posted the application off in time to get to BCMS at Workington before the deadline, then your application will be accepted.

Another change at BCMS is to do with the CPP12 form that you use to apply for a full calf passport.

Prior to April 6, 2007, it was possible to move calves on the CPP12 form which is issued to the cattle keeper when you purchase ear tags. Each tag came with a partially pre-populated CPP12 form with the tag number printed on it. Hence the CPP12 form acted both as a temporary calf passport and as an application form for the full passport.

There are problems with the system, basically dairy farmers could be sloppy when filling the form in and someone who bought the calf would then have to try and find out the proper information so the animal could be registered correctly on the BCMS database. So BCMS has decided that from April 6, 2007, calves may no longer be moved on a CPP12, and can no longer leave the holding without a full passport.

In most cases this will not be a problem, but there could be welfare issues, or a calf could be needed for fostering onto a suckler cow who has lost her calf. In this case the cattle keeper is to phone the BCMS helpline. They will take the animals details and issue an emergency movement licence.

Helpline

This will be then be sent to the keeper by post, fax or email as the keeper requests and the aim is for the licence to be made out as rapidly as possible. The emergency licence will then travel with the animal, and there will be a tear-off slip on the bottom which is returned to BCMS to tell them the animal has arrived. The passport will then be posted directly to the new keeper showing details of the movement made.

If you cannot get hold of the BCMS because the helpline is closed, then BCMS advise you to contact your vet. If after discussion with the vet you move the animal, then contact BCMS as soon as possible to let them know what has happened. They have promised to look at each case on its merits.

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