minimum time to own cattle

JohnBoy

Is there a minimum amount of time you can own cattle?

If I buy cattle tomorrow can I sell them again next week?

Also when cattle are sold at the mart is the date of their last herd test normally given/known?

5live

You can buy today and sell today as long as all the movements are recorded afaik. And all the marts i go to have the date of TB and brucellosis test shown or announced

sh1tstirrer

I thought that there was a new rule brought out a few years ago that when you buy cattle at a mart you have to wait a month before you can sell them at the mart.

Jed_Bartlet

JohnBoy wrote: »

Is there a minimum amount of time you can own cattle?

If I buy cattle tomorrow can I sell them again next week?

Also when cattle are sold at the mart is the date of their last herd test normally given/known?

If the animals you've bought didn't require a pre-movement Brucellosis test, then yes, you can resell them the following week, providing they are still in date for TB. If they did require a pre-movement test, then you have to carry out another test (probably a Private BR test - unless you are carrying out a Round BR test) and the results of that test have to be submitted to your local DVO and your vet will have to receive confirmation that the animals passed the new test before you can move them on again.

The only thing to be wary of is doing this too often. It's perfectly legal and all that but if you move more than 100 animals into and then out of your herd in a single year, the local DVO may insist that you obtain a dealer licence and operate as a dealer when moving animals in this way. You'd be issued with a new dealer number and you'd be required to have separate housing and testing facilities for all animals bought into this dealer number. The DVO's regularly run checks to identify herds that carry out more than 100 movements in a year so it would be spotted by someone at some point.

Regarding the cattle sold at the mart, yes, the mart will check to ensure that all animals sold through it are in date for TB and, where eligible, Brucellosis. All Marts use the Animal Identification & Movement (AIM) system to record movements through a mart and this system will show the last testing dates for each animal so if an animal is out of test, the mart will refuse to accept it.

JohnBoy

Thanks for the useful info there folks.

Spoke to a department man last night.

If everything is tested and in date then yes you can theoretically sell a week later.

We had been wondering could we buy couple of cattle, herd test and sell again a week later.

However in our case we're re-activating a dormant herd number, and as such we will be under restriction until we have passed the herd test, which means extra paperwork seemingly

He reckons with the best will in the world we'll be looking at a three week minimum turnaround.

5live

Thanks for the heads up guys. I guess my change of career to cattle dealing may be put on hold now:eek:

Jed_Bartlet

JohnBoy wrote: »

Thanks for the useful info there folks.

Spoke to a department man last night.

If everything is tested and in date then yes you can theoretically sell a week later.

We had been wondering could we buy couple of cattle, herd test and sell again a week later.

However in our case we're re-activating a dormant herd number, and as such we will be under restriction until we have passed the herd test, which means extra paperwork seemingly

He reckons with the best will in the world we'll be looking at a three week minimum turnaround.

That 3 week estimate may have been a bit off. You'd probably be looking at a minimum of 9 weeks or 13 weeks depending on what you buy in.

All new and reactivated herds (that have usually been dormant for longer than about 18 months but some DVO's will push this to 2 years) are automatically suspended until they have completed a clear test, the rule behind this being that you have to attain your officially TB-free status.

Under the regulations, if, on your first day, you buy in only male animals, then you have to wait 60 days before you can carry out a herd test. If you buy in even 1 female animal on that first day, then that automatically goes up to 90 days (doesn't matter if they aren't eligible for Brucellosis test, 90 days is the rule). It all depends on what you buy in on the first day; that's the day you have been officially deemed to have established the herd. And if you carry out the test too early, the Dept. won't consider it valid and you'll be forced to carry out another one.

If you just want to buy in male animals then you'll only have to wait the 9 weeks. However, if you want to buy in a mix of males and females, my advice would be to buy only male animals on the first day and wait until another day to buy in female animals - that way you'll only have to wait the 60 days to test all the animals and the Dept. can't change that even though you've subsequently bought in female animals.

JohnBoy

oh.

That changes things, again