Workshops/Meetings : Animal Health and Welfare

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OIE/FAO-APHCA Joint Workshop on Animal Identification and Traceability
(Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2-4 July 2007)

The Workshop was attended by 31 participants from 18 countries (Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, PR China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam), 3 international organisations including FAO-APHCA, OIE and ICAR.

Mr S.J. Pathirana, Secretary of Livestock Development, Sri Lanka, Dr Pote Chusri, FAO Representative for Sri Lanka and Maldives, Dr B. Khambounheung, APHCA Chairperson and Dr Y. Oketani, OIE Deputy Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, delivered the welcome addresses and H.E. Mr Hon CB Patanayake, Minister of Livestock Development, Sri Lanka declared the opening of the Workshop. 

Dr Hans Wagner, APHCA Secretariat, explained the purpose of the Workshop. He proposed the participating countries to join the animal identification model project under the FAO Technical Cooperation Project.

Dr Luis Barcos, Chairman of OIE Animal Identification and Traceability Ad Hoc Group, made a presentation on OIE Standards and Guidelines.  He explained Ad Hoc Group's activities and introduced the related Chapter of OIE Code recently adopted at the OIE General Session and the OIE Scientific and Technical Review published in 2001.

Dr Oie Klejs Hansen, Chairman of the ICAR, discussed standardized animal recording systems using special plastic ear tags with a bar code developed by ICAR.

Dr Roger Paskin, Principal Veterinary Officer of Department of Livestock Industry of Victoria, Australia, introduced Australian experience in animal identification using IC chip for cattle. 

In the following Sessions, India, PR China, Malaysia and Thailand presented their country reports. The delegate of Iran introduced their Global Positioning System (GPS) to trace the movement of animal herd from the satellite.

Participants were divided into the following two groups to define the purpose and competent authority of Animal Identification and Traceability:

a)     Group I:    The countries which have already established national level animal identification and traceability systems (PR China, Iran and Thailand) and

b)     Group II:   The countries which do not have national level animal identification and traceability systems (all other countries)
 
After the above group discussion, participants were divided into a) ASEAN and b) SAARC member countries, and discussed future possibility of widespread application of innovative technologies for animal identification used to effectively trace animals and products.

Finally, the Workshop adopted the following Conclusions and Recommendations.

Conclusions:

  1. Taking into consideration the animal disease situation in the region and the movement of animals within and between countries, the delegates recognized the need for the implementation of animal identification and traceability schemes:
    • The securing of a favourable animal health status through the facilitation of disease control and eradication
    • The strengthening of livestock breeding and production, including improved farm management
    • The necessity for proof of ownership and identification for insurance purposes
    • To meet sanitary requirements in order to facilitate national and international trade
    • To promote food safety and consumer confidence
  2. The competent authority for animal identification and traceability is the veterinary administration. The maintenance of databases and application of identification devices can be done according to the specific needs and requirements of individual countries.
  3. The meeting recognized that in many countries, the legislative framework (laws and regulations) for identification and traceability is lacking or in need of amendment and updating to create a legal environment conducive to the implementation of effective identification and traceability schemes.
  4. Animal identification could be individual or by group (cohort and epidemiological unit), or a combination of both, depending on local conditions and the objectives of the traceability system.

Recommendations:

  1. The meeting encouraged member states to set in motion the necessary activities to initiate the development of national livestock identification and traceability schemes. This includes:
    • Policy development
    • Creation of the appropriate legal framework
    • Identification and engagement of stakeholders
    • Provision of funds for pilot activities and long-term implementation
    • Identification of public and private sector organizational and financial responsibilities
    • Development of national databases of establishments and/or epidemiological units
    • Adoption of appropriate means of identification and movement recording, based on the relevant OIE standards, and taking into consideration ICAR and ISO technical standards pertaining to animal identification
    • Development of animal and movement recording databases
    • Provision for linkage to databases containing performance data for genetic improvement programmes
  2. The meeting pointed out the need for harmonization of databases and animal identification wherever possible in order to ensure data exchange between member countries. It is recommended that the ISO standard for animal identification using a 15-digit identification code be used, or that adequate provision be made for its future use.
  3. The meeting was informed of the range of possibilities for animal identification, and felt that RFID technology, at the present moment, may not be feasible in many countries due to:
    • Costs;
    • Data reading, recording and handling requirements;
    • Livestock industry structure with many small farmers

       The meeting therefore recommended the use of visual identifiers with the possibility of upgrading to machine readable technologies at a later stage (e.g. RFID or datamatrix coding).

  4. It was recognized that regional organizations such as ASEAN and SAARC can play a central role in facilitating the development of a legal and technical framework for animal identification and traceability. It was recommended that the issue of animal identification and traceability is included in the programme agendas of SAARC and ASEAN.
  5. The countries requested that OIE, FAO/APHCA and other donors provide assistance in the following areas:
    • Policy development, legal drafting and strategic planning
    • Stakeholder engagement
    • Database development and data exchange technologies
    • Technical support with pilot project implementation

    Technical and financial support through OIE, FAO-TCP and FAO/APHCA should be sought.

  • FAO-APHCA = FAO Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia and the Pacific
  • ICAR = International Committee for Animal Recording
  • RFID = Radio Frequency Identification
  • FAO-TCP = FAO Technical Cooperation Programme