National Animal Identification and Tracing Project

NAIT will be implemented in 2012, making it one of the biggest initiatives for the primary sector this year.

The scheme is mandatory for cattle from 1 July 2012, and for deer from 1 March 2013.

NAIT is a robust IT system to individually tag livestock with electronic ear tags. In the event of a biosecurity alert, infected animals can be quickly identified and traced by their individual tag number, location, and the person responsible for that animal.

The scheme will strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity system by assuring its export markets that it can quickly and effectively manage any disease outbreak. This will reduce any negative effect on the agriculture industry and economy. Read MAF's position on animal identification and tracing .

The Government and industry have agreed to share the NAIT costs. The Government has contributed to establishment costs and ongoing operational costs. DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb New Zealand and Deer Industry New Zealand have provided financial support for establishment costs, and once NAIT is mandatory, their share of ongoing operational costs will be recovered from farmers through levies.

NAIT Limited is the company set up to implement the scheme. It is governed by an independent board of directors and supported by a stakeholder reference group.

For more about NAIT, visit www.nait.co.nz .

Key Crown Activities to deliver NAIT

April/July 2011	Primary Production Select Committee will hold hearings and deliberate on the NAIT Bill.
May 2011	Release of public discussion document on regulations for obligations and exemptions

The NAIT project and MAF's involvement

20 February 2012	NAIT Act becomes law
April 2011	FarmsOnLine goes live.
February 2011	Public consultation on NAIT Bill closes. MAF and NZFSA are amalgamated. MAF approves changes to the Animal Health Board's animal identification for cattle and deer (for bovine tuberculosis) to support transition to new NAIT identifiers (radio frequency ear tags for cattle and deer).
December 2010	NAIT Bill introduced to the House and referred to Primary Production Select Committee.
August 2010	Cabinet agrees to remaining policy and to drafting of NAIT Bill.
May 2010	Cabinet agrees to policy for governance provisions for NAIT Bill. NAIT Ltd established to oversee delivery of NAIT www.nait.co.nz
January 2010	Cabinet approves delivery of NAIT system, starting with cattle (from 2011) and deer (from 2012), and to supporting legislation. Release of information document outlining NAIT proposal to stakeholders. NAIT Governance Group evolves to Stakeholder Reference Group.
November 2009	Completion of full (Stage 2) Business case and sign-off by parties (including MAF and NZFSA) agreeing to deliver NAIT system Publicly Release Version of Business Case Stage 2 NAIT Regulatory Impact Statement (219 KB)
October 2009	Cabinet agrees to delivery of associated property register FarmsOnLine. FarmsOnLine will support the NAIT scheme by providing geospatial information on rural properties. More information on FarmsOnLine
January 2009	MAF releases an information document looking at 10 other animal identification and tracing systems for cattle, including 9 recommendations from the lessons learnt from these schemes. Review of Selected Cattle Identification and Tracing Systems Worldwide (258 KB)
June 2008	Cabinet agrees to release of public discussion document and NAIT is launched at the Mystery Creek Feildays. National Animal Identification and Tracing Implementation document
May 2008	Crown funding confirmed as part of Budget 2008, including funding for capital investment and 65% of ongoing operating funding. Budget 2008: Vote Biosecurity
August 2006 to December 2007	Work on high level requirements, combined needs analysis, and development of stage 1 business case seeking new initiative funding from Crown.
August 2006	NAIT (National Animal Identification and Tracing) adopted as the name of the project.
March 2006	Governance Group established to oversee development of the new system and project formally initiated under chairman Ian Corney. MAF and NZFSA continue as members of the group.
July 2005	Industry discussion document released by AITWG proposing enhancements to New Zealand's existing systems, starting with cattle and deer. Industry agreed in principle, subject to more information on costs and requirements. Proposal for an enhanced national animal identification and traceability system (with an initial focus on cattle and deer) Summary of submissions December 2005
August 2004	Animal Identification and Traceability Working Group (AITWG) established to consider domestic and international trends in animal identification and traceability. MAF and New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) are members.
March 2004	Completion of MAF-sponsored review of animal identification and tracing ("LAPTIS" document) LAPTYS document, following submissions June 2004

Existing Animal Identification Schemes in New Zealand

There are four Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry-approved animal identification set up under the Biosecurity Act 1993 and the Biosecurity (Animal Identification Systems) Regulations 1999:

• MINDA, managed by Livestock Improvement Corporation.
• The CRV Ambreed scheme
• National Bovine Tuberculosis Identification Programme, administered by the Animal Health Board.
• Tracking of imported live animals, managed by MAF.

Under the Animal Products Act 1999, a separate HGP scheme is also administered by MAF for cattle treated with hormone growth promotants in order to exclude these animals from supply to some markets.]

Some changes to these schemes will be implemented to integrate them with the NAIT scheme as appropriate. Other information on NAIT can be found at the NAIT website

Page last updated: 29 February 2012