Report and record cattle that die on a holding
Cattle keepers must report the death of any cattle to the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS), return the cattle passport and record it on their holding register.
Applies to England and Wales
When cattle, buffalo or bison die or are slaughtered on your holding, rather than at an slaughterhouse, you must:
- Report it to BCMS.
- Return the cattle passport (or other identification documents) to BCMS.
- Record the details of the animal’s death in your holding register.
- Get the carcass tested for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) within 72 hours, where necessary.
- Dispose of the carcass.
You must do this within 7 days of the animal’s death, or earlier. Day 1 is the day after the animal dies.
You must carry out all of these actions so that cattle can be traced. This is a legal requirement to help prevent and contain the outbreak of disease.
If you fail to do this, you could get movement restrictions placed on your herd, reduced subsidy payments or be prosecuted.
The rules are different if your cattle:
- have been refused a passport
- were born before 1996
These animals cannot enter the food chain. Read the guidance on cattle without passports.
Report a death online
You can report a death using Cattle Tracing System (CTS) Online or compatible farming software packages.
To report multiple deaths, you can upload a file to CTS Online. If you’re not sure how to do this contact BCMS.
British Cattle Movement Service
Email: bcmsenquiries@rpa.gov.uk
Telephone (England): 0345 050 1234
Telephone (Wales): 0345 050 3456
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Report a death by telephone
If the animals have UK official ear tags, you can report their deaths on the CTS self-service telephone line.
When you call, you’ll need:
- your county parish holding (CPH) number
- the official ear tag numbers of each animal
- the date of death of each animal
CTS self-service telephone line
Telephone (English language): 0345 011 1212
Telephone (Welsh language): 0345 011 1213
24 hours a day, 7 days
Find out about call charges
Report a death by post
Fill in the details of death on the animal’s passport and send it to BCMS. It must arrive within 7 days of its death.
British Cattle Movement Service
Curwen Road
Workington
Cumbria
CA14 2DD
Return documents to BCMS
The document you’ll have for your animals depends on when they were registered.
| Date of cattle registration | Document to return |
|---|---|
| Registered after 1 August 2011 | Single page passport (CPP52) |
| Registered between 28 September 1998 and 31 July 2011 | Cheque book-style passport (CPP13) |
| Registered between 1 August 1996 and 27 September 1998 | Old-style (blue and green) cattle passport (CPP1) and certificate of CTS registration (COR or form CHR3) |
| Born, imported or moved into Great Britain before 1 August 1996 | Certificate of CTS registration (COR or CHR3) |
| Animal without passport born after 1 August 1996 | Notice of registration (CPP35) or a letter if the CPP35 has not been kept |
If you’ve reported the death online or by phone, you do not need to fill in the details of the death on single page passports. Tick the box to say you’ve reported the death instead.
For cheque book-style passports, complete the details of the death.
For blue and green passports or certificates of registration, complete the date and place of death on the passport.
Do not send your breeding or pedigree certificate.
Return documents to:
British Cattle Movement Service
Curwen Road
Workington
Cumbria
CA14 2DD
If you’ve made a mistake when reporting a death
Report any errors to BCMS in writing as soon as you become aware of the problem.
You can either:
- send a message in your CTS Online account
- email or send a letter to BCMS
Explain the problem and include:
- your CPH number
- the official ear tag numbers
British Cattle Movement Service
Curwen Road
Derwent Howe
Workington
Cumbria
CA14 2DD
Email: bcmsenquiries@rpa.gov.uk
Record the deaths in your holding register
All deaths must be recorded in your holding register. You must do this within 7 days of the animal’s death.
Read the guidance for keeping a holding register for your cattle.
Record animals slaughtered on the holding
You must complete the details of an animal’s death in its passport if it was slaughtered on your holding.
If the animal was slaughtered by a vet or slaughterhouse operator and taken to a slaughterhouse for dressing, you must send the passport with the animal. The passport must show that the animal died on your holding.
If an unregistered calf dies
There are different things you must do depending on when the calf dies.
You must not reuse a dead calf’s ear tags for another animal.
Before you’ve fitted ear tags
You do not need to report a calf’s death to BCMS if it dies before you’ve fitted its ear tags.
You must update your holding register to enter the calf’s date of birth and death against the dam’s (the calf’s mother) details.
Before you’ve applied for a passport
If a calf dies after you’ve fitted its ear tags, but before you’ve applied for its passport, you must tell BCMS.
You can:
- use CTS Online or compatible farming software packages
- use the CTS self service telephone line
- send an application for a cattle passport (form CPP12) to BCMS - fill in sections 2 and 3 (the animal’s details) and section 4 (the animal’s death)
CTS self-service telephone line
Telephone (English language): 0345 011 1212
Telephone (Welsh language): 0345 011 1213
24 hours a day, 7 days
Find out about call charges
After you’ve applied for a passport
If you’ve already fitted the calf with ear tags and applied for a passport, contact BCMS to tell them about the death. When you get the passport, you’ll need to fill in the death details and send it back to BCMS.
British Cattle Movement Service
Email: bcmsenquiries@rpa.gov.uk
Telephone (England): 0345 050 1234
Telephone (Wales): 0345 050 3456
Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
When to test for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE)
You must get the carcass tested for TSE - this checks for the presence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). You need to test if the dead animal was:
- over 48 months of age and born in the UK or one of the countries in the countries and country codes table below
- over 24 months of age and born in any other country
You do not have to test for TSE if the animal dies on the Isles of Scilly, Lundy Island, Bardsey Island, Flatholm Island or Caldey Island.
You’ll need to either:
- tear off the TSE testing slip from the bottom of a single-page passport
- keep back a movement card if the animal does not have a single-page passport
The slip or card must go with the carcass to an approved sampling site.
When the carcass leaves your holding, you do not need to report a movement off your holding (‘off movement’). The sampling site will dispose of the carcass.
Animals imported or moved into England or Wales that have been retagged will have the country of origin shown on the passport issued by BCMS.
Countries and country codes table
Animals over 48 months old and born in the UK or one of the countries listed in the table need to be tested for TSE.
| Country | Country code |
|---|---|
| Austria | AT |
| Belgium | BE |
| Cyprus | CY |
| Czech Republic | CZ |
| Denmark | DK |
| Estonia | EE |
| Finland | FI |
| France | FR |
| Germany | DE |
| Greece | EL |
| Hungary | HU |
| Ireland | IE |
| Italy | IT |
| Latvia | LV |
| Lithuania | LT |
| Luxembourg | LU |
| Malta | MT |
| Netherlands | NL |
| Poland | PL |
| Portugal | PT |
| Slovakia | SK |
| Slovenia | SI |
| Spain | ES |
| Sweden | SE |
How to arrange a TSE test
The carcass must be taken to an approved sampling site within 72 hours of its death.
You can:
- arrange a collection - you must book this with a collector within 24 hours of the animal’s death
- take it yourself
To arrange a collection, contact either:
- your local dead livestock (‘fallen stock’) collector
- the National Fallen Stock Company (NFSCo) - this is a scheme that collects dead livestock
Send each carcass with either:
- the TSE cut-off slip from the single-page passport
- a movement card if the animal has a cheque book-style passport
You do not need to send anything with the animal if it only has a notice of registration.
Do not send the passport or notice of registration with the animal. You must report the death to BCMS and return the passport or notice to them.
When you do not have to test for TSE
You do not have to test for TSE if the animal dies:
- before they are 48 months old if they were born in the UK or one of the countries listed in the countries and country codes table
- before they are 24 months old if they were not born in the countries listed in the table
- on the Isles of Scilly, Lundy Island, Bardsey Island, Flatholm Island or Caldey Island
Instead, you must do one of the following:
- send the carcass to a hunt kennel or knacker’s yard
- use your local fallen stock collector
- use the NFSCo scheme
Dispose of a carcass
You must not bury or burn carcasses on your holding unless an incineration plant on your holding has been approved by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
Read the guide on how to dispose of fallen stock for more information.
You are allowed to burn or bury fallen stock on:
- the Isles of Scilly
- Lundy Island
- Bardsey Island
- Flatholm Island
- Caldey Island
Contact BCMS
British Cattle Movement Service
Curwen Road
Workington
Cumbria
CA14 2DD
Email:bcmsenquiries@rpa.gov.uk
Telephone (England): 0345 050 1234
Telephone (Wales): 0345 050 3456
Find out about call charges
Updates to this page
Last updated 8 November 2022 + show all updates
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Content has been reviewed for accuracy and reformatted. New information includes signposting to what to do with cattle without passports and how to correct an error.
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Added translation
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This guidance has been updated to show it no longer applies to Scotland.
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Updated telephone number for NFSC
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Updated National Fallen Stock Company telephone number.
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First published.