Histroy of Ear tag

Although ear tags were developed as early as 1913 as a means to identify cattle when testing for tuberculosis, the significant increase of use of ear tags appeared with the outbreak of BSE in UK. Today, ear tags in a variety of designs are used throughout the world on many species of animal to ensure traceability, to help prevent theft and to control disease outbreaks.

The first ear tags were primarily steel with nickel plating. After World War II, larger, flag-like, plastic tags were developed in the United States. Designed to be visible from a distance, these were applied by cutting a slit in the ear and slipping the arrow-shaped head of the tag through it so that the flag would hang from the ear.

In 1953, the first two-piece, self-piercing plastic ear tag was developed and patented. This tag, which combined the easy application of metal tags with the visibility and colour options of plastic tags, also limited the transfer of blood-borne diseases between animals during the application process.

Some cattle ear tags contain chemicals to control insects such as buffalo fly etc. Metal ear tags are used to identify the date of regulation shearing of stud and show sheep. Today, a large number of manufacturers are in competition for the identification of world livestock population.

The United States Department of Agriculture maintains a list of manufacturers approved to sell ear tags in the USA for the National Animal Identification System.

The International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) controls the issue electronic tag numbers.

The National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) is Australia's system for tracing cattle, sheep and goats from birth to slaughter.

RFID enables buyer to know cattle history

Due to increased exports and diminishing cattle supply, the demand for source and age verified cattle are constantly growing, according to the Cattle Network. With that in mind, producers who wish to continue making money are faced with the dilemma of a need for method of verifying their cattle so that they can continue to remain in business.

The folks at AngusSource have developed a solution that will allow you to do just that. It’s Process Verified Program (PVP), Gateway that offers producers the ability to verify only the source and age of their calves.

Various options are available such as the RFID PCT tag, which is designed to meet the RFID requirements of marketing outlets, within a single tag. Or producers have the option to combine the connivance of RFID PCT with a visual tag for enhanced identification with the RFID ChoiceSet tag.

Producers may custom-print a management number on each visual tag free of charge. For a small additional fee, producers may also custom-print their logo, brand, name and/or phone number on the back of visual tags. Customization is not expected to cause any delays in the manufacturing process.

In the United States all tag options are available with a traditional 15-digit unique animal number or a National Animal Identification System “840” option.

Doowa technology provide the ear tag complied with these standards