National Livestock Identification System Alpaca and Llama ...

NLIS ALPACA AND LLAMA DATABASE OPTIONS REVIEW
the PIC based tail tag system had provided the basis for TB and brucellosis
eradication, these programs had highlighted the deficiencies in such a system,
particularly with long term diseases such as TB. There was a need to identify cattle
individually from property of birth right throughout their life.
This led to research on individual identification technologies through the 1990’s to try
to find technology which could operate effectively in the Australian livestock
industries at a cost that would be acceptable to the industry. The initial impetus for
identification followed a series of residue incidents through the 1980’s and 1990’s,
culminating in the “Helix” incident in the mid 1990’s.
Helix was the propriety name of a chemical (Chlorfluazuron) used to control insects
in cotton. During the drought of 1994/1995, cattle were fed cotton trash as a source
of roughage. This trash contained traces of chlorflauzuron which was absorbed by
cattle and stored in the fatty tissue. Unfortunately, the chemical was almost totally
resistant to breakdown in the body and remained in the animal for very long periods.
After the breaking of the drought, cattle were dispersed widely and it was impossible
to know which animals were affected. This led to huge industry costs for testing and
loss of confidence by importing countries.
This process was hastened when the European Union decided in 1999 that the
system used by Australia for identification and traceability did not meet the
requirements of the EU, particularly with regard to the control of use of Hormonal
Growth Promotants (HGP’s). A more rigorous system had to be deployed to avoid
having to exit the market.
A partnership was established between the cattle industry, Federal and State
governments, and MLA to set up the system, fund it and decide on the operational
arrangements. The State governments have the legal responsibility for disease
management and are responsible for the development and maintaince of the PIC
register and the ordering of devices. The federal government has provided some
funding for the system, particularly the development of the NLIS database which has
been developed by Meat and Livestock Australia on behalf of the industry. This
funding was in the form of matching R&D funding and special grants.
There was agreement by the cattle industry and governments that the system had to
be able to identify the animal for its lifetime, record its location and movements,
record companion animals, record death or slaughter and record statuses against
the animal. This was required as the basis of a system which ensured biosecurity,
food safety and market access.
NLIS IMPLEMENTATION
An essential part of the development and roll out of the NLIS program was the
development of the national traceability performance standards. These standards
define the base requirements of the Australian identification and traceability systems.
The standards require that the system can trace back 30 days and then trace
forward all companion and contact animals for this period within 24 hours. It also
requires that an animal can be traced back to its property of birth and identify the
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