Tagging requirements

From 1 July 2012 for cattle, and 1 March 2013 for deer, animals will need to be tagged with NAIT-approved radio frequency identification device (RFID) tags.

  • Newborns must be tagged within 180 days of birth, or before their first off-farm movement.
  • Existing stock have a three-year grace period for NAIT-approved RFID tags, unless they are being moved off-farm.

NAIT recommends tagging animals soon after birth, when they are easier to handle.

If a tag is lost you are required to re-tag the animal. NAIT tags cannot be reused under any circumstance as the device is unique to a single animal.

NAIT tags can only be removed from live NAIT animals by a NAIT officer or a NAIT authorised person.

From 1 July 2012 you will no longer be required to tag animals with a secondary Animal Health Board (AHB) tag.

For information about the types of tags available, click here.

Tagging exemptions

Calves (cattle less than 30 days old that are moved directly to a meat processor), do not have to be tagged, as they are considered a low biosecurity risk. They will however require a meat processor’s ‘direct-to-slaughter’ tag.

Animals born prior to 1 July which are impractical to tag can be sent to meat processors without NAIT tags, subject to payment of an impractical to tag levy. To be eligible for the impractical to tag levy, animals must be:

  • Considered to be impractical or dangerous to tag and
  • Being transported directly to a meat processor and
  • Tagged with an official Animal Health Board primary barcode tag.

For the 2012/13 financial year the impractical to tag levy will be $13 excluding GST per head. The impractical to tag levy:

  • Recognises people who choose not to tag an animal are potentially avoiding the tag and tag levy cost
  • Covers the NAIT Ltd costs associated with manually processing an untagged animal
  • Acts as an incentive to tag animals wherever practical.

How to tag your animals

To ensure high retention, NAIT RFID tags should be applied to the central/inner part of the right ear, with the white ‘female’ part of the tag facing forward.

The right ear is preferred as meat processing facilities, sale yards and many farmers use fixed panel readers with scanning capability on the right hand side of the animal.



Ordering tags

NAIT-approved RFID tags are manufactured by:

You can order NAIT tags from farm supply stores, in the same way that you would order LIC, CRV Ambreed or AHB tags. You will need to have your dairy participant code or AHB herd number to order your tags. If you do not have an AHB herd number you should contact the Animal Health Board on 0800 437 243 or www.tbfree.co.nz