My goats were all registered and in the herd book and had to have tattoos in the ear. As members of the county goat club we had the facility for free tattooing, as the club had purchased (from the subs) the pliers and the changeable templates for individual identities. In my opinion the tattoo is a quite sufficient permanent identity mark when done properly. Considering what goats can get up to and how they can play, I don't think ear tags are a good idea, but I'm afraid we are bound by the EU regulations. It's certainly worth a try to get a change (possibly on welfare grounds?) but I wouldn't hold out too much hope.