IDENTIFICATION OF SHEEP AND GOATS AT EXHIBITIONS
CLINTON COUNTY
4-H/FFA MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE SCRAPIE TAGS ON ALL GOAT AND SHEEP
PROJECTS EXHIBITED AT FAIR
Identification of Sheep
All sheep (except wethers less than 18 months old moved within Ohio) exhibited
at Ohio fairs must have official USDA ear tags or tattoos. The junior fair
members records must include the animals official ID and the name and address
of the flock where the animal was born and where and when it was sold. The
agricultural society’s (e.g. County Fair Board) records must include the
official ID on the sheep, the buyers and sellers names and addresses and the
date of the sale. These records must be kept for five years.
The official tags can be obtained and applied by the owner of the flock where
the animal was born, by the junior fair member, or by a veterinarian (local
practitioner or fair veterinarian). There are free tags provided by USDA or the
exhibitor can purchase USDA approved tags. The two types of numbering on the
tags are: a) tags with unique nonspecific letter/number series or b) tags with
premises IDs and unique individual animal numbers (minimum order required).
Exhibitors wanting to tattoo, obtain free tags, or purchase tags from another
approved company must first contact the USDA office in
PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A CHANGE FROM RECENT YEARS. Fairs that have been using a
system of fair-specific tags can certainly continue to use that system in
addition to the animals official USDA ID; however, fair-specific tags will no
longer be available for use as official scrapie ID tags. We hope that this will
reduce the amount of confusion for the fairs as well as for our office and
place the responsibility for compliance back on the exhibitor. For fairs that
have leftover tags from last year with the USDA shield on them, they may
continue to use these tags until they are gone and those will continue to be
the official scrapie ID. However, the exhibitors need to be made aware that
they will not be able to obtain their animal's official scrapie ID at the fair
in the future. Those fairs still need to follow the same recordkeeping
requirements as they have done with the official scrapie tags in previous
years.
Identification of Goats Currently, the goat identification requirements are the
same as for sheep. If tags are used for identification, the above information
applies. However, certain tattoos are also recognized as official ID by the
USDA. For non-registered animals, the tattoo must include a premises ID
assigned by USDA and an individual animal number. Registered goats with
breed-recognized tattoos moving with their registration certificates meet the
federal and state ID requirements. Goats moving without a registration
certificate must contact the USDA office to tell us their registry-assigned
herd ID and to be assigned a premises ID.
For additional information, including the use of implants, contact USDA, APHIS,
VS,