National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) is a system of
agricultural animal tracing in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
for
biosecurity
Biosecurity refers to measures aimed at preventing the introduction or spread of harmful organisms (e.g. viruses, bacteria, plants, animals etc.) intentionally or unintentionally outside their native range or within new environments. In agricult ...
and human health. The schemes use
radio-frequency identification
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically Automatic identification system, identify and Tracking system, track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, ...
(RFID) technology and a national database to trace animals from birth to either slaughter or
live export.
History
NAIT was introduced by the
National Animal Identification and Tracing Act 2012 which replaced the
Animal Identification Act 1993. NAIT can refer to the Act, the company of the same name created under the Act, the schemes for
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
and
deer
A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...
or identification devices and identifiers issued under the schemes.
On 1 July 2013 the NAIT company merged with
Animal Health Board to become OSPRI New Zealand.
The investigation into the
2017 Mycoplasma bovis outbreak indicated that farmers were not being fully compliant, e.g. with the "cash sale" of bobby calves, although there has only been one conviction under the act (resulting in a $150 fine).
A 2018 law change "under urgency" gave the ministry extra powers to enforce the act.
Opposition
Federated Farmers
Federated Farmers of New Zealand is a lobby and advocacy group for farmers and rural communities. It has a network of 24 regional organisations and six industry groups. Federated Farmers lobbies on farming issues both nationally and within eac ...
, a farmers membership organisation, initially opposed the NAIT system saying that it would impose extra costs on farmers and will not result in any benefits. Farmers also feared that the NAIT scheme would be used to impose a greenhouse gas emissions tax under an
emissions trading
Emissions trading is a market-oriented approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The concept is also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS). One prominen ...
scheme. A Federated Farmers survey found that 2% supported NAIT and 80% opposed it. A NAIT working group claimed that there would be on-farm benefits.
In November 2019, Federated Farmers meat and wool chairman Miles Anderson welcomed amendments to the NAIT legislation and thanked the Primary Production Select Committee for listening to representations from Federated Farmers and other parties. In mid–May 2021, the group welcomed the
2021 New Zealand budget
Budget 2021 is the New Zealand budget for fiscal year 2021/22, presented to the New Zealand House of Representatives, House of Representatives by Finance Minister (New Zealand), Finance Minister Grant Robertson on 20 May 2021 as the fourth budg ...
's allocation of $22 million in funding to the NAIT scheme, which aims to help authorities respond to issues such as
mycoplasma bovis.
See also
*
Animal identification
Animal identification using a means of Mark (sign), marking is a process done to identify and track specific animals. It is done for a variety of reasons including verification of ownership, biosecurity control, and tracking for research or agricu ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
National Animal Identification and Tracing Act 2012National Animal Identification and Tracing Amendment Act 2018National Animal Identification and TracingOSPRI New Zealand
Agriculture in New Zealand
Identification of domesticated animals