Animal Movement

Reporting made easier

Animal movement between two sites of different ownership (premises-to-premises) must be reported to DairyTrace and this includes transport trucks. In case of a disease outbreak or other emergency, officials can then identify exactly where the animal has been, other animals it has been in contact with, and where it is currently located.

Using the DairyTrace portal to report a Move-in

The data collected from DairyTrace can help protect our economy by preparing us for challenging times, as well as strengthening the reputation of the Canadian dairy sector and its products, here and around the world.

Recording & Reporting Movements

When a dairy animal arrives at your farm, dairy producers must record and report the animal movement to DairyTrace for all events, including the:

  • 15-digit animal ID number on the ear tag;
  • Date of arrival (move-in);
  • Premises ID (PID) of the arrival and departure points, including, but not limited to, the license plate of a transport vehicle;

All within seven (7) days of arrival or before departure, whichever comes first.

It is a recommended good practice for farmers to record and report any animal departure from the farm. For affiliates (i.e. abattoirs, auction facilities, transporters, veterinarians, other) DairyTrace promotes the recording and reporting of all movement.

Ready to Report a Movement?

Report a Movement through the DairyTrace portal

or report through the DairyTrace app

Report a Movement to Customer Services

Using the DairyTrace portal to report a Move-out

Movement & Retirement Events

When an animal arrives, it is the responsibility of the new premises to report the move-in event in Canada within seven (7) days of arrival. Suppose you take an animal to a show and then bring her back home, or your heifer is raised at another farm and returns home, in each scenario it is your responsibility to report when that animal moves back in.

For imported animals from another country, you will need the address from where the animal departed from and the vehicle/trailer license plate number, as imported animals will not have a recognized premise ID associated with the premises of origin in the other country.

When an animal leaves your farm within Canada, the new premises receiving the animal is required to report the animal move-in. This is specific to dairy producers but in the future is expected to also include auction houses, abattoirs, show grounds, community pastures, sorting centres, veterinarian clinics, etc. It is also recommended good practice that the departing premises make note of any move-out for their own internal records and report those events to DairyTrace.

Tag retirement confirms that the animal bearing the unique identification number has died or been exported and no longer needs to remain active in the national traceability system. Knowing that an ID number is retired saves valuable response time during an emergency.

Tag retirement must be recorded on-farm and reported to DairyTrace within seven (7) days of the event. If the tagged animals have died and are disposed of off-farm the rendering facility will report the retirement.

When exporting an animal to a destination outside of Canada, the movement must be recorded and reported to DairyTrace. This includes the location/address where the animals were exported to and the vehicle/trailer license plate number.