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Cattle Keeper's Handbook


All cattle in the European Union, and in many other countries, are individually identified and their movements traced throughout their lives. This is important for two reasons.
  • It supports control and eradication of bovine diseases such as Tuberculosis (TB), Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) or foot and mouth disease.
  • It protects consumers by ensuring that products going into the human food chain are fully traceable and safe.

Maintaining a healthy cattle herd and supporting consumer confidence in milk and beef are essential for the industry to be successful.

For these reasons regulations are laid down in European and UK law, which place responsibilities for cattle identification and tracing on all cattle keepers. The information in this booklet will help you to understand and comply with the rules.

This version of the Cattle Keeper’s Handbook includes new information about:
  • cross compliance at section 1;
  • changes to the cattle passport at section 4;
  • pre-1 August 1996 animals at section 5;
  • death reporting at section 6;
  • BSE testing for imported animals at slaughter at section 6;
  • how to register and enrol for CTS Online at section 9; and
  • CTS Self Service Line at section 11.

We may need to send you updates as practices change. You should keep all updates to make sure that the information you have is always current. You can also check the following websites for up to date information.

Cattle Keeper's Handbook Cover


Cattle keepers handbook V4 July 2011.pdf


File Size 1,276kb


Please note, this version of the handbook has been optimised for the web and so is of a lower quality than the printed version.
Section 1 - Getting Started
  • Introduction
  • New information
  • Cattle identification and tracing responsibilities
  • What is a holding?
  • Who is a keeper?
  • New keepers
  • New keepers of cattle who also keep sheep and goats
  • Cross compliance


Section one - Getting started.pdf


File Size 161kb
Section 2 - Tagging
  • Important dates for tagging cattle
  • Tagging newborn calves
  • When to tag
  • Bison
  • The ear tag
  • Tagging cattle for cultural and historical use
  • Where to get ear tags
  • Imported animals
  • Lost or illegible tags
  • Rules against switching identities
  • Bar-coded ear tags


Section two - Tagging.pdf


File Size 131kb
Section 3 - How to register your cattle
  • How to apply
  • CTS Online
  • Farm software
  • CTS Self Service Line
  • Using an Agent
  • Paper application
  • Death of an unregistered calf
  • Late applications
  • Appeals
  • DNA testing


Section three - How to register your cattle.pdf


File Size 164kb
Section 4 - Your cattle passports
  • Keeping the passport with the animal
  • Identification documents
  • The single-page passport (CPP52)
  • Front page
  • Back page
  • If you do not receive your passport
  • Lost, stolen or destroyed passports
  • Barcode labels
  • Imported and exported cattle
  • Imports
  • Exports
  • Reporting movements for live cattle exports


Section four - Your cattle passports.pdf


File Size 662kb
Section 5 - Moving your cattle
  • What is a cattle movement?
  • Why we have to be told about ‘on’ and ‘off’ movements
  • Standstills
  • Movement of hire bulls
  • How to tell us about cattle movements
  • CTS Online
  • Farm software
  • CTS Self Service Line
  • Using an Agent
  • Movement cards
  • How to fill in a movement summary
  • Single-page passport (CPP52)
  • A chequebook-style passport (CPP13)
  • Animals with certificates of registration
  • Continuation sheet
  • Movements to and from shows
  • Reporting show movements
  • Documents you must take to the show
  • Movement licences for calves
  • Movement licences for for pre-August 96 animals
  • If an animal is lost or stolen


Section five - Moving your cattle.pdf


File Size 224kb
Section 6 - What you should do when an animal dies
  • Death reporting
  • If an animal is slaughtered at a licensed slaughterhouse
  • If an animal dies on your holding
  • Animals over 48 months old
  • Animals under 48 months old
  • Animals slaughtered on the holding
  • An animal refused a passport is slaughtered
  • Animals over 48 months old
  • Animals under 48 months old
  • BSE testing for imported cattle


Section six - What you should do when an animal dies.pdf


File Size 96kb
Section 7 - Record Keeping
  • Farm records
  • Deadlines
  • Keeping us updated with your details


Section seven - Record Keeping.pdf


File Size 117kb
Section 8 - Cattle identification inspections
  • Why we have inspections
  • What the inspector does
  • What you have to do
  • If an inspector is obstructed
  • How long the inspection takes
  • How we choose farms for inspection
  • Other inspections
  • What happens if an inspector finds problems?
  • Mistakes in cattle passports
  • Differences between the information given on ear tags, in passports and in your herd register
  • If more than 20 per cent of cattle are not correctly identified, or you fail to report births, movements and deaths
  • Animals failing to meet the rules
  • No records held
  • Are the results of inspections made public?
  • Follow-up action
  • Animal welfare
  • Penalties


Section eight - Cattle identification inspections.pdf


File Size 164kb
Section 9 - CTS Online
  • What you can use CTS Online for
  • Why you should use CTS Online
  • Using an Agent
  • Who has access to your information?
  • How you can tell if CTS has got your information
  • Getting started
  • How to enrol for CTS Online
  • If you have problems using CTS Online
  • Making the most of CTS Online


Section nine - CTS Online.pdf


File Size 213b
Section 10 - Farm software
  • CTS Web Services
  • Get animal details


Section ten - Farm software.pdf


File Size 82kb
Section 11 - CTS Self Service Line
  • CTS Self Service Line
  • How to use the Self Service Line
  • What you can use the Self Service Line for
  • Action after the call
  • Top tips


Section eleven - CTS Self Service Line.pdf


File Size 109kb
Section 12 - Further information
  • What you should do if you are not satisfied with our service


Section twelve - Further information.pdf


File Size 111kb
Breed code list
  • List of cattle breeds and codes


Updated Breed code list Oct 11.pdf


File Size 128kb
Glossary of terms
  • A list of terms with accompanying definitions.


Glossary of terms.pdf


File Size 52kb

Page published: 14 October 2011