The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is currently consulting on options for improving pig and sheep traceability in New Zealand. The proposed options are intended to provide a rapid traceability system for pigs and sheep during an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, and to improve traceability for any future diseases.
New Zealan’ds biosecurity system enables and regulates trade, primary production and biodiversity. Traceability is an important part of New Zealand’s biosecurity system, providing critical information for the Government to respond to disease outbreaks that affect animals. In a disease outbreak, rapid tracing is essential in order to quickly find, contain and control an outbreak. For this reason, it is really important that New Zealand has an effective animal traceability system.
what is the problem that is trying to be solved?
Currently, New Zealand does not have a traceability system that allows for rapid access to location and tracing information for sheep or pigs. This has a big impact on the ability for MPI to quickly identify the source and spread of an animal disease outbreak that affects pigs and sheep.
When a disease outbreak occurs, the time taken to identify the disease source and spread is critical, therefore ensuring we have the systems in place to respond is really important too. In the case of a food and mouth disease outbreak, MPI would need to collate information on the location and movement of animals at least 14 days prior to the estimated infection date on an infected farm. The current system of Animal Status Declarations (ASDs) requires ASDs to be collected and transcribed into a database before they can be used for movement tracing, slowing down the ability to trace animal movements in a disease outbreak. ASDs do not require registered location information which is also needed to accurately locate animals in a disease outbreak.
For the reasons above, MPI proposes three options for improving the traceability system for pigs and sheep in New Zealand. They are:
Option One: Retain the status quo – pigs and sheep continue to be traced through ASDs in paper or PDF form
Option Two: Mandate the use of mob-level pig and/or sheep Electronic Animal Status Declarations (eASDs)
Option Three: Include pig and/or sheep as NAIT species at the mob-level
While globally many countries have moved to, or are moving to, individual traceability of sheep, this option was not discussed by MPI due to a significant amount of work with stakeholders and providers that is needed to understand the costs, benefits, and operational resourcing required for this option. It is expected, however, that individual traceability of sheep will be something that New Zealand will be expected to move towards in the future.
Option one: The status Quo
The first option proposed by MPI is to make no change to the current system. The current system of ASDs would make tracing efforts by MPI something that would take a considerable amount of time. While the status quo is convenient for pig and sheep owners, it is not efficient for those requiring information to identify contacts between farms and animals in order to understand the spread of infectious diseases.
Option two: Mandating electronic aSDs at the mob-level
Currently either paper or electronic ASDs are required to be used to record animal movements between farms and to processors. This option proposes that electronic-ASDs are mandated for pig and sheep movements so that animal movements are electronically available for improved access to information, with an additional requirement that saleyard movements are also recorded.
At present, farmers can choose to make their animal status declarations using either paper or PDF form. In order for option two to be adopted, there would need to be a suitable platform available for users to access, and to record ASDs electronically.
Option two would be an improvement on the status quo as it would:
- create data sources for ASD information on pigs and sheep that would be available in a searchable, indexable format, and
- increase efficiency and speed of response in a disease outbreak by allowing quicker access to data, effectively decreasing tracing time.
This option will have costs for all sheep and pig owners, as well as MPI, through the development of a digital platform. Operational considerations for option two have not been developed e.g. costs and design of a suitable digital platform, compliance requirements, challenges to internet access for some farmers, and support requirements for infrequent users.
Option three: include pigs and/or Sheep as NAIT species at the mob-level
Option three would require an amendment to the NAIT Act to include pigs and/or sheep as NAIT animals. This option would require pig and/or sheep owners to comply with the key obligations specified in section 24 of the NAIT Act, except that animals would not be required to be individually identified with a NAIT device.
This option would also be an improvement on the status quo as it would:
- Provide a single data source for location and tracing information for all major foot and mouth disease susceptible species,
- Improve the effectiveness of the existing NAIT system by extending its scope to species other than cattle and deer,
- Mean that data was rapidly accessible in an animal disease outbreak response due to having one source of animal identification and traceability, and
- Provide accurate and verifiable animal location information
While this option is the most efficient option for improving traceability, this option increases the regulatory and administrative burden on farmers who will have to comply with NAIT requirements. It is also unclear what costs a farmer would incur by tracing animals under NAIT at a mob level.
Have your say By April 5th
Consultation on the proposed options to improve traceability of pigs and sheep in New Zealand runs until Sunday 5 April 2026 at 11:59 pm.
MPI are holding a webinar on Tuesday 3rd March from 2:30-3:30 pm to provide more information to those in the industry about these proposed options. You can register for that here.
The full discussion document can be found here. This document contains all of the information on the proposed options, as well as key questions that MPI would like feedback on.
You can make a submission via any of the following ways:
- Online via the online submissions template found here
- Via email by sending your submission to BiosecurityPartnerships.Policy@mpi.govt.nz
- Postal submissions by posting written submissions to:
Pig and Sheep Traceability
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140
New Zealand.