An ear tag for marking an animal and for sampling tissue from said animal, comprising: a male part and a female part, said male part having a stem and a tip of said stem, said female part having a receiving portion for receiving said tip and at least parts of said stem upon application of the ear tag, said ear tag further comprising sample collecting means and, optionally, a sample container, and wherein said sample container, if present, is detachably associated with said female part prior to application of the ear tag, wherein said sample collecting means has a first interior space for receiving a tissue sample, and said sample container, if present, has a second interior space for receiving a tissue sample, wherein said ear tag, prior to application, further comprises a desiccant portion, said desiccant portion being associated with said sample collecting means, said desiccant portion being made from a desiccant material shaped into a solid desiccant body, wherein said solid desiccant body is a unitary solid desiccant body which is not a powder of desiccant material and not a plurality of grains of desiccant material, characterized in that after application of the ear tag and sampling of tissue from the animal, said solid desiccant body and said sample collecting means are arranged such that said first interior space is exposed to said solid desiccant body, thereby allowing the desiccation of a tissue sample present within said first interior space or said second interior space, wherein said solid desiccant body is integrated in said sample collecting means as an integral portion thereof, which does not come into direct physical contact with a tissue sample present in said sample collecting means, and wherein said sample collecting means, prior to application of said ear tag, is associated with said male part in a detachable manner such that upon application of said ear tag by introducing said tip and at least parts of said stem of said male part into said receiving portion of said female part, said sample collecting means is pressed into or through tissue of an animal, thereby generating a tissue sample within said first interior space and, wherein said sample collecting means, after application of said ear tag, is detached from said male part together with said tissue sample within said first interior space by withdrawing it therefrom, said sample collecting means having a front end and a back end, said front end having a sharp edge, said sharp edge being configured to cut into tissue and generate a tissue sample which is received in said first interior space when said sample collecting means is pressed into and/or through tissue, said back end being a reservoir for containing the desiccant, said reservoir being or comprising said desiccant portion. a male part and a female part, said male part having a stem and a tip of said stem, said female part having a receiving portion for receiving said tip and at least parts of said stem upon application of the ear tag, said ear tag further comprising sample collecting means and, optionally, a sample container, and wherein said sample container, if present, is detachably associated with said female part prior to application of the ear tag, wherein said sample collecting means has a first interior space for receiving a tissue sample, and said sample container, if present, has a second interior space for receiving a tissue sample, wherein said ear tag, prior to application, further comprises a desiccant portion, said desiccant portion being associated with said sample collecting means, said desiccant portion being made from a desiccant material shaped into a solid desiccant body, wherein said solid desiccant body is a unitary solid desiccant body which is not a powder of desiccant material and not a plurality of grains of desiccant material, characterized in that after application of the ear tag and sampling of tissue from the animal, said solid desiccant body and said sample collecting means are arranged such that said first interior space is exposed to said solid desiccant body, thereby allowing the desiccation of a tissue sample present within said first interior space or said second interior space, wherein said solid desiccant body is integrated in said sample collecting means as an integral portion thereof, which does not come into direct physical contact with a tissue sample present in said sample collecting means, and wherein said sample collecting means, prior to application of said ear tag, is associated with said male part in a detachable manner such that upon application of said ear tag by introducing said tip and at least parts of said stem of said male part into said receiving portion of said female part, said sample collecting means is pressed into or through tissue of an animal, thereby generating a tissue sample within said first interior space and, wherein said sample collecting means, after application of said ear tag, is detached from said male part together with said tissue sample within said first interior space by withdrawing it therefrom, said sample collecting means having a front end and a back end, said front end having a sharp edge, said sharp edge being configured to cut into tissue and generate a tissue sample which is received in said first interior space when said sample collecting means is pressed into and/or through tissue, said back end being a reservoir for containing the desiccant, said reservoir being or comprising said desiccant portion.