The New Scottish Passport

From the 4th of October, 2021, all passport issuing, handling and management are transferred to ScotEID from the British Cattle Movement Service(BCMS). A new look passport has been developed, with new security printing and a clearer presentation.

ScotEID create the passport on behalf of the Scottish Government when a calf is registered on a Scottish holding or an animal on a Scottish holding requires a replacement or re-issue passport.

When you receive your passports;

• the passports arrive with a covering letter that lists the animal ear tag IDs and bar codes for the passports enclosed in the envelope
• please check the passports when you receive them
• there can be up to five passports in an envelope
• if the contents are not correct in any way please contact ScotEID.

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Birth registrations, from October, are recorded on ScotEID. Please include calves born before the 4th of October that still require to be registered. Any calves that have not yet been registered before or after the 4th October must be registered with ScotEID.

For all passports, replacements and re-issuing, the rules and regulations have not changed. What has changed is that ScotEID will be issuing the passports and carrying out the passport processing from October.

(Passports requested from BCMS before the 4th October will be processed, either by BCMS or handed over to ScotEID to complete.)

For animals located in Scotland, there is no change required to their UK passports issued by BCMS. If an amendment or re-issue is required, the replacement passport will be in the new style.

All animals that have a valid UK passport continue to be identified by that passport now and after the 4th of October.

We have;

• removed text that was not applicable
• placed informative text where it is relevant
• increased text sizing where we could
• created a new security base layer.

We have not;

• changed any item, such as breed, sex, genetic dam - all data items remain
• changed the position of any data item on the passport
• changed the position of the bar codes (no impact on scanning)
• changed the movement history section
• changed the positions of the bar code label, date or signature boxes.

We have added;

We have added a QR code of the Animal ID in the centre at the top.

A QR code is similar to a bar code
in that it presents information in a graphic form that can be scanned electronically. Many mobile phones, ipads or notebooks can scan a

QR code using the inbuilt camera or a QR reader app.

The Scottish passport is a UK passport.

The passport will cross borders.

It represents the animal whether in Scotland, England or Wales.

It is accepted at markets and abattoirs all over the UK.

You can order bar code labels from ScotEID from October. The bar code labels can be applied to either the BCMS or Scottish style of passport.

You can request continuation sheets from ScotEID, use the back of a cover letter, or download from ScotEID. The continuation sheet can be used with either the BCMS or Scottish style of passport.

Animals imported from the EU keep their existing ear tag ID but are issued with a new Scottish passport. Animals imported from non EU countries must be retagged and a new Scottish passport applied for. The process to follow to apply for passports for imported animals remains the same but must be submitted to ScotEID.

Animals imported that go direct to slaughter within 15 days do not require to be registered. This remains the same.

Replacements and re-issues required from the 4th of October, are submitted to ScotEID for the passport of any animal located in Scotland regardless of whether it’s existing passport is a BCMS or a Scottish passport. These include all types of passport amendment that may be needed to correct the passport, e.g. breed or sex of the animal.  There is no charge for replacement passports. The charge for replacing a passport if it has been ‘lost, stolen or destroyed’ remains the same at £20.

There is no change to the data items you record on the passport. The bullet points below are reminders of the current manual recording on the passport:

• Affixing your bar code label and signing within the box when you receive the passport
• Affixing your bar code label, entering the date and signing when an animal joins your farming business
• Signing and entering the date when an animal leaves your farming business (including when the animal is going to a market or an abattoir)
• Affixing your bar code label, signing and entering the date of death when an animal dies on-farm.

There have been no changes in the time allowed to report your cattle records.

Here is brief outline of existing time periods allowed:

Birth registrations

- within 7 days of the animal having been tagged (a maximum of 27 days in total from date of birth) for cattle and buffalo

Movements

- Sale, Show, Hire moves (moves recorded on the passport) must be reported to ScotEID within 3 days

- within business moves (moves recorded on ScotMoves by those that use additional holdings) must be reported on ScotEID within 2 days

Deaths

- deaths must be reported within 7 days. You can report deaths online, or call ScotEID, to ensure that you record within the time period allowed. You must return the passport of an animal that dies on-farm to ScotEID.

For the Scottish Government guidance on keeping cattle please visit their website, www,gov.scot and https://www.gov.scot/publications/livest...

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

t: 01466 794323

e: help@scoteid.com

w: www.scoteid.com