[white-blazes]

I'm confused. I was told by somebody today that my pigs need tags in now, and should have had the breeders tags in.

They came with nowt and we are going to order our own this week when hubby gets home, but intended on tagging them the 'night before' they go to slaughter.

Should they be wearing the breeders tags and flock no. now?

[JulieS]

If they are under 1 year they can be moved on a temporary marker, not needing tags.

You can then put your metal tags in the night before going to the abattoir.

[oaklandspigs]

Sorry but your "somebody" is wrong.

Being in Wales, you come under the Pigs (Records Identification and Movement) (Wales)  Order 2008

Sections 7&8 state :
Identification of pigs moved off a holding
7.—(1) No person may move a pig off a holding unless it has—
(a)an ear tag with the letters “UK” followed by the herdmark of the holding from which it is being moved; or.
(b)a tattoo showing that herdmark (with or without the letters “UK”)..

Exception for a pig less than one year old
8.—(1) Article 7 does not apply in relation to a pig less than one year old provided that it is identified with a temporary mark that—

(a)either by itself or by reference to a document accompanying the pig during the movement, enables the holding from which the pig was last moved to be identified; and.
(b)lasts until the pig reaches its destination..
(2) This exception does not apply in relation to a pig being moved—
(a)to a market;.
(b)to a slaughterhouse;.
(c)for the purposes of intra-Community trade or export; or.
(d)to a show, etc. in accordance with article 10

So for your circumstances your pig arrived with only a temporary paint mark. As long as it remains on your holding, it needs no further ID,no mater how long it is with you.  It then only needs ID when it goes to the abattoir.

[white-blazes]

So for your circumstances your pig arrived with only a temporary paint mark. As long as it remains on your holding, it needs no further ID,no mater how long it is with you.  It then only needs ID when it goes to the abattoir.

No, it has nothing on it, no paint mark, no tattoo, nothing   Just the movement paperwork, that's all I had.

[robert waddell]

oh dear it looks like a lot of people have no idea what is required and what they have to comply with to be legal

[white-blazes]

oh dear it looks like a lot of people have no idea what is required and what they have to comply with to be legal

No I don't have an idea, and have relied on advice off people, and this forum.  The breeder said when they delivered that they didn't need their tags in, so I thought that was ok, then another person who bought pigs off the same breeder as me, has told me we should  have had them with tags.

It's a minefield, I thought keeping pigs would be a doddle - but keeping horses is much easier

[shep53]

Crazy rules worse than sheep and there stuppid, spoke to an auctioneer today about selling weaners and was told dont need a tag but better with one !!!!

[oaklandspigs]

No I don't have an idea, and have relied on advice off people, and this forum.  The breeder said when they delivered that they didn't need their tags in, so I thought that was ok, then another person who bought pigs off the same breeder as me, has told me we should  have had them with tags.

It's a minefield, I thought keeping pigs would be a doddle - but keeping horses is much easier
[/quote]

Don't worry - the breeder was right that they didn't need tags, although they should have had a temporary mark - but the temporary paint mark is exactly that - was supposed to last the journey, no more, so if the breeder didn't mark it, too late and no problem now.

As stated, no need to do any ID until they go to slaughter, your "other person" is mistaken.

[white-blazes]

Don't worry - the breeder was right that they didn't need tags, although they should have had a temporary mark - but the temporary paint mark is exactly that - was supposed to last the journey, no more, so if the breeder didn't mark it, too late and no problem now.

As stated, no need to do any ID until they go to slaughter, your "other person" is mistaken.

Thank you oaklandspigs very much for clearing that up for me, much appreciated

[plt102]

Hi there,

My boys are going to the abbattoir on Friday and i have the tags and tagger ready for them. I was wondering if anyone had any good tips for doing the tagging as quickly and stress free as possible. Our pigs are quite tame but extremely active so they will let you stroke them but dont stand still for too long. Should we do it once we've loaded them in the trailer so they have less room to run off or should we try to do it while they are feeding and let them run away once its done?

p.s. they look like they are REALLY going to hurt...ouch

[JulieS]

I do them the night before going off at feed time.  They are busy eating and hardly notice the tags going in....If they do it's just a quick head shake and then they are back to eating again.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[plt102]

Thanks a lot - I'll give it a go the night before and then i still have time in the morning if I'm unsuccessful.

Now its just a challenge of making sure only the 3 boys go into the trailer and not our girls. The tend to go everywhere en mass!

I'll let you know how it goes

P

[white-blazes]

Well we did ours in the shed (wooden) which was their house, and they ran round and round so much I thought the sides were going to burst.  Next time it will be in the metal trailer, we'll position it in their field and bed it down with straw so to encourage them to go in and sleep/feed - well that's the plan

[Helencus]

I've just used a slap marker for the first time and got to say it was dead easy to use. The guy I was With normally tags and he said he's going to get one as it was much easier.

[Mrs pig]

May I suggest to anyone who is unclear about tagging to contact the local animal health or trading standards and not to just rely on advice from "other pig keepers"  with the exception of a few, they often mean well but may give you conflicting or wrong information.  tagging, ID and movements are specific to pigs and you could easily find yourself in hot water should you get it wrong.

do not leave it to chance - just pick up the phone and give them a call......