National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) is a system of agricultural animal tracing in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

for

biosecurity Biosecurity refers to measures aimed at preventing the introduction and/or spread of harmful organisms (e.g. viruses, bacteria, etc.) to animals and plants in order to minimize the risk of transmission of infectious disease. In agriculture, thes ...

and human health. The schemes use

radio-frequency identification Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...

(RFID) technology and a national database to trace animals from birth to either slaughter or

live export Live export is the commercial transport of livestock across national borders. The trade involves a number of countries with the Australian live export industry being one of the largest exporters in the global trade. According to the Australian ...

History

NAIT was introduced by the

National Animal Identification and Tracing Act 2012 National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

which replaced the Animal Identification Act 1993. NAIT can refer to the Act, the company of the same name created by the Act, the schemes for

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

or identification devices and identifiers issued under the schemes. On 1 July 2013 the NAIT company merged with Animal Health Board to become OSPRI New Zealand. The investigation into the 2017 Mycoplasma bovis outbreak indicated that farmers were not being fully compliant, e.g. with the "cash sale" of bobby calves, although there has only been one conviction under the act (resulting in a $150 fine) A 2018 law change "under urgency" gave the ministry extra powers to enforce the act.

Opposition

Federated Farmers Federated Farmers of New Zealand is a lobby and advocacy group for all farmers: arable including fruit and vegetables, dairy and meat and their often remote communities. It has a network of 24 regional organisations and six industry groups. Fed ...

, a farmers membership organisation, initially opposed the NAIT system saying that it would impose extra costs on farmers and will not result in any benefits. Farmers also feared that the NAIT scheme would be used to impose a greenhouse gas emissions tax under an

emissions trading Emissions trading is a market-based approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The concept is also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS). Carbon emission t ...

scheme. A Federated Farmers survey found that 2% supported NAIT and 80% opposed it. Farmers also fear that the NAIT scheme will be used to impose a greenhouse gas emissions tax under an

scheme. A Federated Farmers survey found that 2% supported NAIT and 80% opposed it. A NAIT working group claimed that there would be on-farm benefits. In November 2019, Federated Farmers meat and wool chairman Miles Anderson welcomed amendments to the NAIT legislation and thanked the Primary Production Select Committee for listening to representations from Federated Farmers and other parties. In mid–May 2021, the group welcomed the

2021 New Zealand budget Budget 2021 is the New Zealand budget for fiscal year 2021/22, presented to the House of Representatives by Finance Minister Grant Robertson on 20 May 2021 as the fourth budget presented by the Sixth Labour Government. This budget occurs after ...

's allocation of $22 million in funding to the NAIT scheme, which aims to help authorities respond to issues such as

mycoplasma bovis ''Mycoplasma bovis'' is one of 126 species of genus '' Mycoplasma''. It is the smallest living cell and anaerobic organism in nature. It does not contain any cell wall and is therefore resistant to penicillin and other beta lactam antibiotics. ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

National Animal Identification and Tracing Act 2012

National Animal Identification and Tracing Amendment Act 2018

National Animal Identification and TracingOSPRI New Zealand
Agriculture in New Zealand Identification of domesticated animals

History

Opposition

See also

References

External links