As a student hoping to enter the world of farming I have come to realise that this area has more rules than most.

I help out at a local farm and we were sending the 2 middle white pigs for slaughter. They had been slow to reach a good weight so instead of being slaughetered in Jan as hoped we waited for an extra month. Ear tagging itself wouldnt have been a hastle if the pigs had been younger. Unfortunately the tags, as plastic would not go through the skin. In the end we had to use a stanley knife to pierce the ears causing stress and pain to the pigs.

 As a rule two tags are needed before slaughter. In my opinion this operation though necessary for identification could be improved. After putting care and time into looking after the pigs it seems a shame to jeopardise their health which can lower the KO%.

It would be good to hear other views on DEFRA regulations which seem unfair and also any other methods to improve on.

 Maya

I have not farmed in the UK for a few years, but are you serious? Is it necessary to put ear tags into pigs? I objected to the now old-fashioned idea of a "slap" mark (tattoo) on the same basis of unnecessary pain and suffering, but ear tags is a simply ludicrous idea. Ears are removed and later eaten in a lot of the EU. They are for sale in all supermarkets in Castelo Branco. Given this, how can an ear tag identify a pig's carcase? A running tattoo - after slaughter, is the surest way to identify an animal, although I still have estreme doubts about the efficacy, or need, for such procedures.

Try a different make of tag you can get plastic ones with metal tips though i have to agree that it is stressful to the pigs and not a good thing just before they are killed

We tried the aluminium tags when the regulation requiering tags for movements came into effect, but the abattoir complained some of these came out in the de-hairing machine, leaving the carcasses unidentified. We have gone over to the plastic tags, which I now insert when I move the pigs at store weight to the finishing radials, saves a lot of hassle and no extra stress just before slaughter.  When we used to tattoo ears in the piglets, the farm ID was legible throughout their lives, this is a better option in my opinion, but as I am managing an organic unit at present, this is not permitted, and doesn't fulfill the legal requierments anyway.

Hi Maya,

 This is an issue that affects smaller pedigree producers or smallholders. Larger commercial producers would normally have registered slap marks and therefore, wouldn't need to eartag. It may be worth contacting the British Pig Association http://www.britishpigs.org.uk/ for some more information to avoid having to put a pig through this in the future. DEFRA also have some information that may be of use http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/movements/pigs/id.htm.

miss t, Are you then confirming that ear tags are not essential - the question I asked on 26th Feb?

ear tags are not essential, 200 going in the morning and theyl all be slapped, no tags.

In answer to your question, pigs need to be identified when being moved. On large commercial units they will usually have their own registered slap marks which count as identification, so eartags are not used there. However, for the smaller guys with only a few pigs- such as hobby farmers or pedigree breeders, then they likely wont have their own registered slap mark and therefore eartagging is another option. When selecting eartags then the farmer must take in to account and ask for eartags that can withstand going through the dehairing machine at the abattoir. If in doubt then it is always best to contact DEFRA. I hope that helps anyway.

You will have to have a herd number to get the pigs in the first place, once you have this you can get a slap marker from a reputable place and along with a pot of ink and a pad you can mark your pigs (once on each shoulder) for the abbatoir. Pigs going elsewhere (like weaners) have different rules.

I hate slap marking fattening pigs, it makes them yelp and upsets the group no matter how careful you are, I resisted the slap marker for as long as I was allowed.  Unfortunately tagging is worse for the pig and much more awkward for the stockman.

If you are sending pigs to slaughter - slap them.