Cattle inspections

This is an old version of the page

This is an old version of the page

Date published: 1 January, 2015

Date superseded: 26 January, 2016

Every year we need to carry out inspections on three per cent of Scottish holdings which keep cattle and five per cent of Scottish Beef Scheme claimants.

The main purpose of the inspection is to check you are complying with the cattle keeper requirements so that we can monitor and trace the cattle population if there is a serious disease outbreak.

Our inspector will check your records and documents and make sure you’re up to date with registering your cattle and they are tagged correctly.

This will include checking ear tags, passports and any records of animal births, deaths and movements.

Specifically, our inspectors will check that:

  • you have tagged your cattle in accordance with current legislation
  • you have registered your cattle with the British Cattle Movement Service
  • you keep appropriate passports, records of births, deaths and sales
  • you keep records of all cattle movements and notify the British Cattle Movement Service, where appropriate
  • your cattle are eligible for subsidies

Livestock inspections are a part of the Cross Compliance inspections programme.

You can find out more about Cross Compliance here

Our inspections programme is designed to ensure the highest standards in Scottish agriculture, and the Scottish Government is liable for fines from Europe if there is widespread failure to meet key rules.

So, if you fail any part of your inspection, you could be liable for a reduction in payments or even legal action.

If you do fail part or all of your inspection, we will refer to this as a breach and any further action will be assessed depending on how serious the breach is.

The Cattle Keeper’s Handbook provides a reference to what’s required for identification and traceability.

Cattle Keeper’s Handbook

Details of the inspection process can be found in our guidance notes for Scottish Government staff who carry out livestock inspections.

Cattle inspections

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