Did you know that when you’re buying breeding stock at market this season, you can use the Livestock Information Service (LIS) to report sheep movements online, without having to post a copy of your on-movement LIS-1 document?

The Livestock Information Service is Defra’s official traceability system for recording the movement of sheep, goat or deer in England. Keepers can record the movement of sheep on and off their holding and maintain a digital holding register. They can also record the animal’s Date of Birth, Breed, Gender & Death, as well as Dam and Sire information when recording EID tags.

So, if you’re buying sheep at market soon, why not try reporting their movement onto your holding using LIS, saving you the time and cost of postage? 

How does it work?

Once the market has processed the sale and generated the movement on their system, you’ll receive a notification on your LIS account with a prompt to accept or reject the move. You then follow the following 3 steps:

1. Log in to your LIS account.

2. Check the movement details to make sure they are correct.

3. Accept the movement onto your holding.

It’s a quick and straightforward way to keep your movement records up to date, as well as your digital holding register.

Why use the digital service?

Using LIS can save you time and reduce the amount of paperwork involved when buying sheep at market. There’s no need to find a stamp, address an envelope or remember to post your documents within the allocated timeframe. More importantly, by checking and accepting the movement online, you can help ensure that the movement onto your holding is recorded correctly and as quickly as possible to support disease control.

Helena Parker-Wright, a sheep farmer from Norfolk, explains how she uses LIS: “Reducing the need for paper records is the way forward. You haven’t got to worry about sending your paperwork in and doing so within a certain amount of time. You go online, record the movement and it’s done. There’s no risk of losing records or forgetting about paperwork.”

When are paper movement documents still required?

There are still many instances where paper documents are still required to accompany the animal, this is because not everyone uses the digital system yet. The LIS-1 form is still required to accompany the animal in transport and through markets when selling. It is necessary for certain record keeping purposes and traceability requirements. You can however print off the digital form after submission on LIS.

What’s the LIS sign up process and how long does it take?

Before you can use the Livestock Information Service (LIS), you must first be registered as a Keeper of Livestock with APHA and have obtained a County Parish Holding (CPH) number.

To create your account, you will need to have your County Parish Holding (CPH) number and associated email address to hand (verification required).

The first step is to upload your animals onto your holding register, which can be done manually, by uploading a CSV or by connecting an EID reader.

Find out more and watch a step-by-step video on How To Sign Up To LIS on our Support page https://livestockinformation.org.uk/lis-sheep-support/.