February 5, 2018
A scheme to track all movements of pigs has begun in Australia, part of an expanded National Livestock Identification System.
On February 1, State and Territory governments introduced mandatory reporting of all pig movements to the PigPass database.
Federal Agriculture Minister and Member for Maranoa David Littleproud said the move brought the pork industry into line with the cattle, sheep and goat industries.
“Strong traceability is a key part of a strong biosecurity system,” Mr Littleproud said.
“PigPass uses ear tags or tattoos to identify animals. All pig movements on to farms, saleyards, showgrounds and abattoirs are documented in a database using a National Vendor Declaration.
“This database is used by State and Territory governments to trace livestock in an emergency.
“PigPass means animals can be identified quickly and allows the property of birth and residence to be easily located if there were ever a food safety issue or exotic disease outbreak.”
A PigPass National Vendor Declaration (PigPass NVD) form must be completed when pigs are moved from any property.
This applies to all pig owners and producers, regardless of the numbers of the pigs moved.
The receiver of the pigs must “close the loop”‘ by reporting the movement online using the originating sender’s serial number from the PigPass NVD.
A receiver could be an abattoir, a pig producer, a pet pig owner, a saleyard, a knackery, a show or event, or a livestock agent.
PigPass is designed to link pigs to a property of origin using a Property Identification Code (PIC), registered pig identification (ear tags and tattoos), and pig movement documentation (the PigPass NVD).
Pig owners – whether they own one pig, 20 pigs, a pet pig or a Christmas pig – must register with PigPass.
Failure to comply with the reporting requirements could result in fines.
There are more than 1400 pig farms in Australia and the pork industry is worth more than $1.3 billion to the national economy.
