Animal movements

All movements of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and deer must be recorded and reported to the appropriate agency. On-farm movement records must be kept to record all movements on and off the holding, births, deaths and replacement tags.

As a livestock owner, you must be aware of the regulations and keep the required records.

The general licence (including standstill)

All movements of deer, sheep, goats, pigs and cattle are controlled by the general licence issued by Defra. A 6 or 20 day standstill period applies after an animal is moved onto a holding.

Everything else you need to know about movements, records and identification is available from the GOV.UK website and can be found using the links below:

Cattle

• Cattle identification and registration
• Cattle movements

Pigs

• Pig identification, registration and movements

Sheep and goats

• Sheep and goats identification, registration and movements

Record books

Download and print movement record books:

• For sheep and goats (PDF)
• For cattle and pigs (Excel)

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