THE possibility of including livestock brand registration on the Property Identification Code application form is under investigation after meetings between Livestock SA and PIRSA.
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Livestock SA chief executive officer Deane Crabb said the organisation met with PIRSA CEO Scott Ashby and other government representatives in March to propose linking brand and earmark registrations with PIC applications.
“They (PIRSA) seemed receptive to the idea,” he said.
“That’s how they do it in WA so there should be no reason why we can’t do it here.
“But PIC applications are all electronic these days, so PIRSA said they would have to look into the technicalities of doing such a thing, including the IT side, and whether it was feasible.”
Mr Crabb said they had yet to hear back from PIRSA with an official decision.
“They did indicate though that if it were to go ahead, it would happen prior to the end of the financial year.”
A PIRSA spokesperson said discussions between PIRSA and Livestock SA in regards to the Brands Act 1933 were “ongoing and currently investigations are underway towards reaching a long-term solution”.
The state government repealed the act on January 1, stating the ‘old’ system of branding cattle, sheep and goats had been superseded by the National Livestock Identification System and PICs.
At the time, the government said the NLIS and PIC system had “already proven very useful in tracing livestock ownership and movements, especially with livestock disease surveillance and control and emergencies, such as bushfires”.
But as many producers, including Waitpinga farmer Barry Jagger, have highlighted, eartags could easily be removed. “All one needs is a pair of tin snips,” he said.
Family First MLC Robert Brokenshire strongly supported the idea of registering livestock brand marks through the PIC paperwork.
“If it is so cumbersome to manage the system the old way, the solution shouldn’t be to just drop the service,” he said.
“The government needs to get on with providing farmers with a low to zero cost option to register their brands.
“I am waiting to hear back from Livestock SA with an update on how the discussions went, because if they’re not satisfied with what they are trying to negotiate with the government, then I will introduce a private member’s bill to reinstate the law.”