Canadian Sheep Identification Program
Storage instructions for all CSIP tags
Guidelines for CSIP tags
www.cansheep.ca/csip.html
www.cansheep.ca/Animal_Identification.html
(CSIP) Regions for tag sales
It is recommended that you add your Premise ID number to the form during the check out process.
- Maritimes to Ontario (excluding Quebec) may purchase their tags from Carleton Place, Cookstown or Waterloo locations.
- Manitoba can purchase their tags from our new branch in Brandon, MB, or our branch in Lethbridge AB.
- Alberta & British Columbia are required to purchase their tags from our Lethbridge, Alberta branch location.
- Saskatchewan residents are required to purchase their tags from the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board (SSDB) at 306-933-5200 fax 306-933-7286 or email [email protected]
CSIP tag pricing includes any provincial check off and or CSF levy, if applicable.
All sheep and lambs must bear an approved CSIP ear tag before they leave their farm of origin. This includes animals leaving the premises temporarily (e.g. exhibitions, veterinarian clinics, community pastures). It is illegal to transport animals not bearing an approved tag. The yellow Shearwell Data tag and the yellow Allflex button / dangle sheep tag are the only Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags currently approved for use in the Canadian Sheep Identification Program (CSIP).
Requirements for Livestock Producers: Livestock Identification and Traceability Program
The objective of the national Livestock Identification and Traceability program is to provide accurate and up-to-date livestock identity, movement and location information to mitigate the impact of disease outbreaks, food safety issues and natural disasters.
This brochure provides an overview of the federal livestock identification and traceability requirements. Provincial and territorial requirements may also apply.
CFIA website - Second version PDF to download
Exigences pour les éleveurs : Programme d'identification et de traçabilité des animaux d'élevage
Le programme national d'identification et de traçabilité des animaux d'élevage vise à communiquer une information exacte et à jour sur l'identité et les déplacements des animaux d'élevage et sur les installations où ils se trouvent pour atténuer l'impact des foyers de maladie, des problèmes liés à la salubrité alimentaire et des catastrophes naturelles.
La présente brochure donne un aperçu des exigences fédérales en matière d'identification et de traçabilité des animaux d'élevage. Prière de noter que des exigences provinciales et territoriales peuvent également s'appliquer.
CFIA Website - Deuxième version PDF à télécharger
What to expect from future traceability regulations
The Canadian Sheep Federation (CSF) has engaged with the CFIA through two rounds of national consultations in 2013 and 2015 on proposed amendments to the Health of Animals Regulations dealing with livestock identification and traceability. Through the Regulatory Implementation Committee, national industry associations including the CSF, provinces and the federal government are preparing the implementation of the proposed regulations in order to ensure compliance with the new proposed requirements and message consistency. What follows provides insight into what's to be expected from amended traceability regulations. Proposed regulations are expected to be published in Part I of the Canada Gazette in the spring or fall 2018, providing greater detail about specific requirements. There will be a 75 day comment period following publication in Part I of Canada Gazette, and the CSF will continue to advocate for the interests of Canadian sheep farmers and ranchers as regulations are finalized.
read more on traceability regulations
CSIP guidelines as of January 1, 2014 - PDF downloads
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Guidelines for Producers
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Guidelines for Truckers
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Guidelines for Packing Plants
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Guidelines for Feedlots Operators
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Guidelines for Livestock Dealers & Auction Marts
October 2014
Shearwell Data has introduced a new helpful website on the CSIP ASET tags - www.shearwell.ca
October 2013
Shearwell CSIP Double ASET Tags for purebred sheep producers
The Shearwell double ASET tag is now available for purchase through the Canadian Cooperative Wool Growers Limited. Many CSBA members have been anxiously awaiting the approval of the Shearwell double tag due to its small size and excellent reputation for rate of retention.
CSBA members may use a double tagging system with two tags approved and bearing the official identification number under the Canadian Sheep Identification Program as an alternative for tattooing registered sheep. While the option to use approved double tags in place of tattoos has been in effect since October 2006, only Allflex double tags were approved until now.
May 2012
Update on Sheep Industry's Progress Towards Mandatory RFID Tags
In preparation for mandatory traceability in the livestock sector, the Canadian Sheep Federation (CSF), government and industry have been working together to add RFID tags to the list of approved CSIP identifiers.
Afin de permettre la traçabilité obligatoire dans le secteur de l'élevage, la Fédération canadienne du mouton (FCM), le gouvernement et l'industrie ont collaboré afin d’ajouter les étiquettes RFID (identification par radio fréquence) à la liste des identifiants approuvés par le Programme canadien d'identification des moutons (PCIM).
For more information, please go to Canadian Sheep Breeders Association or Canadian Sheep Identification Program
Canadian Sheep Federation - step by step videos on tagging your animals using Shearwell & Allflex RFID tags.
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English RFID Tagging Videos
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Français Vidéos sur l’identification RFID
Alberta Sheep Electronic Identification Incentive Program - Rules, Regulations & Application Form
(please call your local CCWG branch for pricing details)
CSIP RFID Approved Ear Tags
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Allflex RFID tags How to apply tags
Allflex RFID yellow button tags (20 complete tags per package)
Allflex RFID yellow button tags and dangle tags (20 sets of tags per package)
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Shearwell Data Ltd tags - How to apply tags
Shearwell Data Ltd ASET tags (20 tags per package) - Shearwell Data Ltd Double ASET tags for purebred sheep breeders (20 sets of tags per package)
How to change tag applicator jaws to the ASET design
Shearwell tag support website - www.shearwell.ca
Locations to purchase CSF approves RFID tags in Canada
British Columbia, Alberta producers contact:
CCWG Livestock Supplies, Lethbridge County, AB
1-800-567-3693 [email protected]
Saskatchewan producers contact:
SK Sheep Development Board, Saskatoon, SK
306-933-5200 [email protected]
Manitoba producers contact:
CCWG Livestock Supplies - Total Farm Supply Ltd, Brandon, MB
1-877-797-3276 [email protected]
Ontario producers contact:
CCWG Livestock Supplies & Equestrian Centre, Carleton Place, ON
1-800-488-2714 [email protected]
CCWG Livestock Supplies, Cookstown, ON
1-866-458-4800 [email protected]
CCWG Livestock Supplies, Waterloo, ON
519-888-8299 [email protected]
Atlantic producers contact:
Antigonish Farm & Garden Co-op, NS
902-863-1436 [email protected]
National Identification - CFIA Enforcement
The CFIA has been monitoring and enforcing compliance to this program over the last 11 months. Overall tagging compliance has been good. Since the summer, the CFIA has begun auditing producers' on-farm records. Each year, 1% of farms within each province will be audited by a CFIA inspector.
Sheep producers are required by law to comply with the following:
- To apply the approved tags to all sheep and lambs before they leave your farm.
- To keep records of all sheep or lambs entering your flock for breeding purposes.
- To keep records of all sheep 18 months or older leaving your farm, other than those sold directly to a federally or provincially inspected abattoir. This includes animals leaving the premises temporarily (i.e. exhibitions, veterinarian clinic, community pastures).
The regulations also state:
- If a tag is subsequently lost, you must immediately apply a new approved CSIP ear tag and record the identification number with as much information about the origin of the animal as is know.
- It is illegal to remove or tamper with tags from any live animal for any reason.
- Previously used tags should not be used to tag a different animal.
Identification of Sheep in Quebec
Questions & Answers
The only exception is that producers, who are shipping animals to Québec, must use the Allflex RFID tag in conjunction with either the Allflex dangle tag or the Ketchum tag as of January1, 2005.
For producers in provinces other than Québec you need to be aware of the regulations that are being implemented in Québec if you conduct business with producers and packing plants within that province. This has generated several common questions;
Q: If I am transporting sheep through the province of Québec to another province do they have to be tagged with RFID tags?
A: No. As long as the sheep are in transit through the province to a destination outside the province of Québec all that is required is the standard CSIP tag.
Q: What happens if I sell a breeding ewe or ram to a producer in Québec?
A: The animal must be identified with and RFID tag before it crosses the Québec border.
Q: If I sell lambs direct to a packing plant in Québec what do I do?
A: In order for the lambs to be accepted by a packing plant in Québec they will have to be identified with both an RFID tag and either a Ketchum Kurl-lock #3 CSIP tag or the Allflex CSIP dangle tag. Packing plants in Québec are not allowed to apply tags so it will be the shippers' responsibility to make sure that the lambs are tagged.
Q: What happens if I ship lambs to a plant in Québec without the proper tags?
A: It is an offence for either a trucker or a packing plant in Quebec to accept lambs not identified with adequate ID. You will not be able to sell these animals in Québec and will have to bring them home until they are tagged.
Q: What happens if sheep I consign to a sale barn are bought by a Québec buyer for a Quebec packing plant?
A: It is the responsibility of the transporter and the buyer to make sure that the sheep have the correct tags. They will have to ensure that the animals are tagged with CSIP RFID tags and this information is recorded and passed on the Agri-Tracabilite Québec (ATQ).
Q: Do I have to tag my sheep with RFID if I am taking them to a livestock show in Québec and then bringing them home?
A: Yes.
Q: If I have sheep consigned to a breeding stock sale like the All Canada Sheep Classic that was held in Richmond, Québec in 2003 would the sheep have to be tagged with RFID?
A: Yes.
Q: Do I need to cross reference the Ketchum tags with the RFID tags that are also in my name?
A: Yes. Individuals applying a new tag to an animal must cross reference the new tag number with the original tag number and keep a record.
For more information on RFID in Québec please contact the Canadian Sheep Federation at 1-888-684-7739 or Agri-Tracabilite Quebec (ATQ) at 1-866-270-4319.