24/12/20: Pig export health certification - stakeholder update
Please see the attached update from Scottish Government on export health certification for pig meat to the EU and new requirements around separation from wild cloven hoofed animals.
22/12/2020: Office opening hours
The ScotEID Office will be closed on:
- Friday 25/12/2020 & Monday 28/12/2020
- Friday 01/01/2021 and Monday 04/01/2021
If you need to contact us during this time, please either email us at help@scoteid.com or leave a short telephone message on our answer machine and we will get back to you.
Stay safe and we wish you all the best over the festive period.
09/09/2020: Cattle EID tags - update
Research and development is continuing by ScotEID into the use UHF tags on farm and at markets and abattoirs. UHF tags have been chosen because they will show the actual tag number (WYSIWYG), can long distance read, are anti-collision and don’t interfere with existing EID systems. The very latest UHF development includes battery power with GPS location. UHF readers, both fixed and handheld, are available commercially being used in many industries throughout the world.
ScotEID UHF tags can be used voluntarily and are available as part of the pilot ongoing, testing their use on farm and through markets and abattoirs. Currently there is one official UHF secondary tag available, and others will be made available during 2021. There is, as yet, no planned date to make these tags compulsory, either for new-borns, or as replacement tags. There are other UHF tags available but currently can only be used as management tags and manufacturers are currently taking these through compulsory testing called PAS44.
UHF tags are a light salmon pink colour making them easy to see, which will be important during the period when there will be mixed batches of cattle.
Low Frequency (LF) tags are only available using a manufacturer coded chip, this code has to be translated by software to show the visible number on the tag. It is planned that official LF WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get) will become available but will require a number change, which is complicated and requires current government systems to be updated. Unfortunately, the CTS/BCMS system cannot be updated to accommodate a new number sequence compatible with the low frequency EID international standard (ISO 11784). At this time ScotEID don't believe that LF WYSIWGY tags will become available as official tags until CTS/BCMS closes (when new cattle systems in England and Wales become operational), which could be two years away.
Cattle keepers have two choices currently:
27/09/2020: Website Updates
The look of the website has been tweaked slightly as part of a system update. The changes are largely superficial but bring some important usability improvements.
28/05/2020: ScotEID huntly office
Many thanks for your patience if any call you made to the Huntly office was delayed or you had to leave a message during the lockdown period. We are now steadily building capacity in the office whilst abiding with Government guidelines. With all good luck and guidance we will be back to full capacity for the Autumn sales season, and thereafter for the transition from CTS to ScotEID at the end of November, recording cattle births, deaths and business to business movements.
13/05/2020: Updated T&Cs and data protection policy
Please note that our Terms and Conditions and Data Protection Policy have been updated. Amongst other updates, references are made to the requirements involving the replacement of CTS at the end of November 2020. The update also includes the addition of the word “operator”, which is defined in the Terms and Conditions .
06/05/2020: Transition of cattle births/deaths/movements from CTS to ScotEID
Minister for Rural Affairs Mairi Gougeon made the following announcement today:
Following discussions with the Bovine EID Industry Working Group* on the transition from CTS to ScotEID, it has been agreed to delay the go live date from summer 2020 to the end of November 2020. This is due to the impact that COVID-19 is having on some third party software providers, as well as the wider farming community.
The end of November date will mean that the Autumn calving period and the main cattle sales will both be finished and there will be the minimum number of births and movements being registered on the system.
We will continue to monitor the timings and the impact of COVID-19. If November is no longer an option the next suitable go live date would be the end of January 2021. This would avoid the busy Christmas period and have the system ready before Spring calving commenced.
24/03/2020: ScotEID information centre reduced capacity
Following the announcement by the Government on Monday evening, the Huntly office will be closed today Tuesday. The office operation will be reconfigured to handle urgent calls and requests. We expect to have a very reduced staff available as from tomorrow Wednesday 25th to handle urgent calls. In the meantime do not hesitate to email us on help@scoteid.com and we will provide assistance.
Many thanks
Josie Forth, Office Manager.
31/01/2020: Quick guide to pig movements
A Quick Guide for Pig Movements leaflet with advice for new and existing pig keepers can be found at the link below.
Quick guide to pig movements
22/01/2020: FIELD survey of farmer experience of and attitude to endemic disease
A GB research consortium named FIELD are looking at farmer experience of and attitude to endemic disease. The focus is on lameness in sheep and BVD in cattle and the output may help shape future policy direction. The survey should take about 20 minutes to complete. For every survey completed £5 will be donated to Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolant Institution. The survey will close at the end of March.