Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Marking of Animals Order (Northern Ireland) 1996 and shall come into operation on 19th January 1996.

Interpretation

2.  In this Order “animal” means an animal of the bovine, caprine, ovine or porcine species.

Marking of animals

3.—(1) An inspector or other authorised officer of the Department may freeze brand, paint, stamp or clip any mark on to, or apply or cause to be applied an ear tag or any other means of identification to, an animal.

(2) A person shall not alter, remove, obliterate, deface or duplicate or cause or permit the alteration, removal, obliteration, defacing or duplication of any such mark, ear tag or other means of identification, except with the written permission of the Department.

Revocation

4.  Article 19 of the Tuberculosis Control Order (Northern Ireland) 1964(2) is hereby revoked.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order.)

This Order empowers an inspector or other authorised officer of the Department of Agriculture to apply a mark or an ear tag or other means of identification to any bovine, caprine, ovine or porcine animal. The Order also prohibits the alteration, removal, obliteration, defacing or duplication of any such mark or means of identification without the Department of Agriculture’s permission.

Any person who without lawful authority, or excuse, proof of which shall lie on him, contravenes Article 3(2) of this Order shall be guilty of an offence against the Diseases of Animals (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. The penalty for such an offence is, on summary conviction, either imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (currently £5,000) or in the case of an offence committed with respect to more than 5 animals, not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (currently £1,000) for each animal.