The Livestock Information Transformation Programme (LITP) within DEFRA have commissioned Livestock Information (LI) to provide a digital solution for sheep farmers to provide evidence of their veterinary attestation status, which will be incorporated onto the Livestock Information Service (LIS) platform used to digitally record sheep movements.
Following the update from Defra regarding the requirement of a veterinary attestation from 13th December 2023 for all livestock keepers who produce livestock intended for the food chain and which may (or the products derived from their livestock) be exported to the EU, Livestock Information have implemented a tactical solution for registered vets to digitally record a vet attestation for sheep keepers.
Whilst many farmers will be covered by qualifying farm assurance schemes such as Red Tractor, for those who aren’t there will be a requirement to obtain a signed declaration from their vet that a visit has taken place. Vet attestation visits can be combined with other routine vet visits, so long as all livestock species on the farm are considered and the vet can assess the bio-security risk in relation to notifiable disease.
The declaration will include a ‘Vet Attestation Number’ – known as a ‘VAN’. An annual health and welfare review (known as a ‘Pathway’ visit) can also provide a VAN. Farmers will then be required to provide the VAN reference on the Food Chain Information (FCI) documents accompanying the animal or batch of animals when they record a movement to markets or to the abattoir.
The new digital capability on the existing Livestock Information Service (LIS) for sheep will allow vets to mark a sheep keeper’s CPH as having had a valid vet attestation visit and will allow abattoirs to be able to view that attestation before export.
So, if you have not already signed up to LIS, now is the time to start. It is free and easy to use and will provide a simple and effective way for sheep keepers to prove their vet attestation status.
How it will work
Once the veterinarian has completed the farm visit, they will be able to log in to LIS, using their RCVS credentials, and complete their veterinary attestation on the system, which will produce a veterinary attestation record and generate a VAN. Veterinarians must print or save this record at the point of completion, to provide a copy to Livestock keepers.
An abattoir user will then be able to login to LIS and choose to view, print, or save the veterinary attestation record for a specific animal(s) or view the attestation status of the departing agricultural holding.
Additional guidance and an FAQ document specifically for the LIS vet attestation solution is under construction and will be available ahead of the launch of the new functionality. To create an account on LIS, visit https://www.licorporatedev.local/create-an-account/ .
For further guidance on the vet attestation requirements, other species and alternative paper-based solutions, please follow the useful links below:
