Record and report cattle exported or moved out of England or Wales
What cattle keepers in England and Wales must record and report when they export or move cattle, including ear tagging rules.
Applies to England and Wales
You can only export or move cattle out of England or Wales if they:
- were born, imported or moved into Great Britain (England, Scotland or Wales) after 1 August 1996
- have a valid passport (single page or chequebook style) with complete movement history
- have 2 official ear tags, one in each ear, that show the same official ear tag number – you must get these from an approved ear tag supplier
- are not subject to any movement restrictions
You cannot export live cattle for fattening or slaughter. This applies to journeys from or through Great Britain to anywhere outside the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man.
You can still export live cattle for other purposes, for example for breeding and competitions. You must meet legal requirements to protect animal welfare during transport.
When you move cattle to Scotland from England or Wales, follow the rules for recording and reporting cattle movements off your holding instead.
There are other rules and processes to follow when you export or move cattle, for example quarantine periods.
Read more about:
What you must record and report
You must:
- update your holding register within 36 hours of the animal leaving your holding
- report the movement off your holding to the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) within 3 days
If you’re moving cattle to Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, send a copy of the export health certificate to BCMS within 7 days.
If you’re exporting to the EU or any other country outside of the United Kingdom, send a copy of the export health certificate and the cattle passport to BCMS within 7 days.
Put a barcode label with the county parish holding (CPH) number of the holding the animal is moved or exported from on all documents you send to BCMS. Or you can write your CPH number on the documents instead.
If the holding has been approved as an assembly centre, use the CPH of the assembly centre.
Post your documents to:
British Cattle Movement Service
Curwen Road
Derwent Howe
Workington
Cumbria
CA14 2DD
Ear tagging rules to export cattle to the EU or move them to Northern Ireland
You must tag all cattle you plan to export to the EU or move to Northern Ireland with 2 official ear tags – one in each ear.
Both ear tags must contain the animal’s official ear tag number.
You must order ear tags from an approved supplier.
Ear tagging rules for other countries
Cattle exported outside of the EU or United Kingdom must also have 2 official ear tags, one in each ear, that show the same official ear tag number.
If the country they’re being exported to has different ear tags requirements, they’ll be changed on arrival.
You must still follow the rules for recording and reporting the cattle’s movements.
Exporting cattle products
There are different rules to follow when you export or move animal products, such as meat or gelatine, out of England or Wales.
Read the guidance on how to export or move food, drink and agricultural products.
Updates to this page
Published 6 May 2014Last updated 26 July 2024 + show all updates
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Following paragraphs added due to new legislation from 22 July 2024: 'You cannot export live cattle for fattening or slaughter. This applies to journeys from or through Great Britain to anywhere outside the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man. You can still export live cattle for other purposes, for example for breeding and competitions. You must meet legal requirements to protect animal welfare during transport.'
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Guidance updated as there is no longer a requirement to have a third ear tag when exporting cattle to the EU or moving them to Northern Ireland.
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Page updated with new rule 'It is against the law to export from Great Britain cattle for slaughter, or for fattening for slaughter.' Also text deleted due to change in retagging rules when exporting.
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Clarified what you need to do when exporting cattle or moving them to Northern Ireland. Added a link to general rules on exporting.
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This guidance has been updated to show it no longer applies to Scotland.
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Links to Bovine-CON (consignor confirmation of loading) form and list of identification numbers (Bovine-SCH) removed.
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Added section to explain that as a result of the UK exiting the EU, the tagging requirements for cattle that are exported from or moved out of GB to an EU Country or Northern Ireland have changed from 1 January.
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First published.