Frequently Asked

Questions About

Identification

Requirments for

Sheep and Goats

Q. When did this regulation go into effect? 

A. The regulation went into effect on November 19,

2001, for sheep and goats not known to be exposed

to scrapie.

Q. Why do I have to do this?

A. It is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)

goal to eradicate scrapie in the United States to 

minimize ongoing losses to the sheep industry. To

eradicate scrapie, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service (APHIS) must be able to trace

scrapie–infected animals back to their flock of birth or

origin and exposed sheep and goats to the flocks

where they moved after leaving an infected source

flock.

Q. What is scrapie?

A. Scrapie is a fatal degenerative disease affecting

the central nervous system of sheep and goats.

Clinical signs include changes in behavior or 

temperament, scratching and rubbing against fixed

objects, weight loss, loss of coordination, lip 

smacking, and gait abnormalities. The presence of

scrapie in the United States is a major obstacle to

establishing new export markets for sheep and sheep

products.

Q. Which animals will need identification (ID)

tags?

A. All breeding sheep and sheep over 18 months of

age need to be officially identified before they enter

into interstate commerce or change ownership.

Situations requiring official ID include but are not

limited to the following:

• Cull ewes and rams sold to livestock markets or 

dealers who are considered to be in interstate 

commerce. USDA recommends owners place 

official ID on these animals before they leave the 

farm so that animals can be traced back to a 

specific farm if needed. Additionally, markets 

may charge the owner of the flock for their time 

to keep additional records and to apply ID if 

sheep are not properly identified when received.

• All sexually intact sheep of any age going to any 

show, demonstration, or exhibition “out–of–State,”

or any “in–State” show, demonstration, or 

exhibition where sheep from another State might 

be on site.

• Breeding animals must be identified on change of

ownership.

Goats that must be identified for interstate sale or

show or movement are as follows:

• Sexually intact registered goats and goats used 

primarily for milk production or sold for breeding 

or exhibition. Note: Legible registration tattoos 

are acceptable for ID when the goats are 

accompanied by their registration certificate or 

the registration numbers and registry are listed 

on a certificate of veterinary inspection.

• Any other sexually intact goats that have resided 

on the same premises as sheep.

Q. Where do you get the official ID tags?

A. Call APHIS’ Veterinary Services (VS) office at this

toll free number 1–866–873–2824

(1–866–USDA–TAG). This office will assign you an

official flock ID and provide USDA tags.

Q. What is the cost of the tags and what do they

look like?

A. USDA provides two types of official tags free of

charge. There is a white metal tag and a white 

plastic tag. Producers that order these free tags will

also receive one pair of tag pliers free of charge with

their first order. Additional pliers may be purchased

directly from the company if desired. If you do not

care for either of these, additional types of official

tags can be ordered at a cost to you. Please ask for

information on these tags when you call USDA. You

need an official flock ID, issued by USDA, prior to

ordering these tags.

Q. How many tags should I order?

A. You should order enough tags to identify any

breeding sheep or cull sheep that will be sold within a

1–year period.

Q. Can registered tattoos be used to meet

USDA’s identification requirements?

A. Yes, legible individual registry tattoos issued by

breed associations may also be used as official 

identification when the animal is accompanied by its

registration certificate listing the tattoo. Your assigned

tattoo prefix should be registered with your local

USDA, APHIS, VS office by calling 1–866–873–2824

(1–866–USDA–TAG).

Factsheet

Veterinary Services August 2004

APHIS
Q. What do I do when selling an animal that is

required to be identified?

A. When selling a sheep or goat that must be 

identified, the animal must be identified to the flock in

which it was last used for breeding or was born. You

can do this by applying your USDA–assigned tags to

the animals and providing the purchaser with an

owner statement and retaining a copy for yourself.

The owner statement should include the owner’s

name, signature, address, and telephone number, the

date the animals left the flock of origin, the identification number assigned to the premises, the number of

animals, the breed or class of animal, the premises

portion of the premises identification if premises 

identification is used or the individual numbers if

premises identification is not used, and a statement

that the animals were either born or were used for

breeding purposes on the premises to which the

premises identification is assigned. If you are selling

animals for slaughter only, be sure to tell the market

manager and write “for slaughter only” on the owner

statement. Animals sold for breeding must have a

certificate of veterinary inspection from an accredited

veterinarian if they will be moved out of State.

If the animal is identified with flock–of–origin

assigned ID you may use the premises identification

number; however, when it is practical to do so, 

recording their full ID (flock number plus individual

animal number) is recommended. A copy of this

record should always go with each animal and you

should keep a copy. Remember, the goal is to know

both the flock into which an animal was born and any

flocks in which the animal resided after birth. This is

to determine the origin of scrapie and eradicate it if an

infected animal is found.

Q. What if I buy sheep or goats that must be 

identified?

A. The easiest thing to do is to request that the seller

identify the animals and provide an owner statement.

The owner statement has all the information you are

required to keep. If the seller does not provide an

owner statement, you will need to record:

1. The number of animals purchased or acquired;

2. The date of purchase or acquisition;

3. The name and address of the person from whom 

the animals were purchased or otherwise 

acquired;

4. The species and breed or class of animal; and

5. A copy of the brand inspection certificate for 

animals officially identified with brands or 

earnotches.

Q. What do I do when I sell one of these purchased animals?

A. If the animal was not used for breeding purposes

while in your ownership, you should provide a copy of

the owner statement you received when you 

purchased the animal to the new buyer.

If you used the animal for breeding purposes, you

should provide the purchaser with your own owner

statement.

Q. How long do I need to keep records?

A. Records must be kept for at least 5 years from the

date the animal was transported or sold.

Q. I purchased an animal with an official ID

already on it; do I need to retag it?

A. Never remove any official ID. You can add your

own official ID if you wish. Again, there must be a

combination of ID and records that will allow USDA to

trace a scrapie–infected animal to the flock of birth

and any flock(s) in which the animal has resided for

breeding purposes.

Q. My neighbor needs to ID some sheep and has

no tags. Should I lend her/him some of mine?

A. No. USDA assigns flock numbers to each flock.

Unique flock ID ensures that any traces involving flock

ID will be traced to a single flock.

Q. Is this part of USDA’s Scrapie Flock

Certification Program?

A. No. The Scrapie Flock Certification Program is a

different program available to producers who wish to

take additional actions that will allow their flocks to be

certified as being free of scrapie.

Q. Will the ID tags used in Scrapie Flock

Certification Program satisfy the requirements of

this regulation?

A. Yes.

Q. What is the Scrapie Flock Certification

Program?

A. The Scrapie Flock Certification Program is a 

voluntary USDA program to identify flocks that are

free of scrapie. The purpose of the certification program is to provide producers a source of replacement

animals from flocks that are monitored for signs of

scrapie. Owners of participating flocks must officially

identify all animals over 1 year of age with an official

tamperproof eartag, maintain required records, and

agree to immediately report animals suspected of

having scrapie. Please contact the USDA, APHIS, VS

office for more information or check out the Web site

(http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs).

Call 1–866–873–2824 if you have any questions

or go to the Internet at

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/scrapie/ or

http://www.animalagriculture.org/scrapie.
United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color,

national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual

orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases

apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,

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Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD).

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Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call (202) 720–5964

(voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and

employer.