The National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS) will be expanded in the new financial year to include the tagging of goats.

The system administered through the Veterinary Services Division (VSD) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, is currently focused on cattle.

“We’re moving certainly, in the next financial year, to start tagging goats,” Acting Chief Veterinary Officer in the ministry, Dr Sophia Ramlal, tells JIS News.

“Our experience on the ground is that there is a lot of cattle theft, but if you speak to farmers there is more goat theft,” she notes. “We’re not unaware of this, and the ministry is planning to ramp that up through our small ruminant programme. It will require legislation, and those are all things we’re looking into.”

NAITS is an identification and registration system for the local livestock population, beginning with bovine animals (cattle).

The system aims to enhance the traceability of animals, primarily cattle, for enhanced disease control, food safety, and to combat praedial larceny. It incorporates information on their identity, ownership, geographical location and movement activity, from birth to death.

The system is backed by the National Animal and Identification System 2015 Regulations on the marking of bovine animals, making it mandatory.

All information gathered is stored electronically (in a database), where the system is monitored and the traceability feature enabled.

Visual ear tags are affixed to the animal’s ears, and a bovine passport containing the same identification number as that on the ear tags is issued to the owner and must accompany the animal when moved from one establishment to another.

Dr Ramlal says that the system is part of international best practice and seeks to enforce five elements.

These are proof of ownership, traceability and biosecurity control, “which means that in the case of diseases, we’re able to go back to determine where these animals would have come from”, she explains.

“It also allows for guarding against theft, and so it is an important anti-theft device… and the last focus is to really help us with market access. If we want to access international markets, a very strong traceability system where there is confidence in what we’re doing locally is that benchmark by which we are measured,” she points out.

More than 100,000 heads of cattle have been tagged under the system over its 10-year existence, helping to reduce theft and enhance the country’s food safety and security.

Dr Ramlal tells JIS News that close to 20,000 of the 100,000 heads of cattle were tagged in December alone through cattle blitzes.

“Last year, we made sure to ramp up those efforts… so, our team is out in the field. We’ve recruited interns from the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) and we’ve asked farmers to reach out to us,” she says.

She notes that the VSD will also be working to increase penalties for breaches under the law.

With the establishment of the Agricultural Protection Branch (APB) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in 2025, enforcement has ramped up across the island, with several arrests made for moving cattle illegally.