Rural Payments and Services

The aim of these rules is to maintain a system for the identification, registration and traceability of pigs.

You must:

Registration and identification

1. register your details with your local Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID) office within 30 days from the date you first keep pigs:

• you must also inform your local Animal Plant and Health Agency office (APHA) where you are going to keep pigs and they will give you a herdmark for your holding
• notify them of any change to your details (including if you stop keeping pigs) within 30 days of the change

2. correctly identify your pigs (depending on their age and destination) before they leave your holding:

• pigs must be identified with an eartag, tattoo or a slapmark
• pigs moving to a market or slaughterhouse must be identified with an eartag, tattoo or slapmark
• pigs less than 12 months old can be identified with a temporary mark, such as a paint mark, when moving between farms
• pigs moving to a show or exhibition, a semen collection centre, for breeding purposes, intra-community trade or export or under a walking licence must be identified with an eartag or a tattoo with a unique identification number

Movements

3. notify ScotEID* whenever you move a pig, either prior to the movement taking place or on the day of the movement. The notification must specify the following information:

• the full address, including postcode and County Parish Holding (CPH) number, of the holding from and to which the pigs are being moved
• the date of the movement
• the number of pigs moved
• the identification mark of each pig moved
• in the case of pigs moved from a market, the lot numbers of the pigs being moved

On-farm records:

4. once a year, record the number of pigs on your holding in your holding register

5. you can keep your register, in any format you wish. However, it must contain at least the following information:

• the name and address of the keeper, including CPH number
• the date the pigs were moved
• the temporary mark or identification number, including the unique individual identification number, if applicable*
• the number of pigs moved
• the address and CPH number where the pig(s) were moved from
• the address and CPH number where the pig(s) were moved to

6. this information must be recorded in the holding register within 48 hours of a movement on or off your holding. You must make sure that these on-farm records are up to date, kept for at least three years and are available on request to an inspector

You must not:

Registration and identification

1. remove or replace identification without permission from your local authority unless it is lost, illegible or removed for welfare reasons. In all cases you must replace the identification appropriately

The 'Pig Identification and Registration – Guidance for Keepers in Scotland' gives full guidance on how to comply with the pig identification and registration rules, and can be found on the Scottish Government website:

Pig Identification and Registration

*Explanation of terms

'ScotEID' is the movement reporting database used to notify Scottish Government when pigs are moved.

'If applicable' for moves to shows or exhibitions, for breeding purposes (if the pigs are returning to the holding), to semen collection centres, for intra-community trade or export, or under a walking licence this must include a unique identification number.

Click 'Download this page' to create a printable version of this guidance you can save or print out.