MP welcomes new ear tag deadline but says XI change is ‘nonsense’
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
The new format tags were expected to become a legal requirement on 27th January 2025, but DAERA has extended the deadline to 30th June 2025.
The announcement has been welcomed by the DUP’s Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Spokesperson Carla Lockhart MP.
Advertisement
Advertisement
The widely recognised UK9 identification prefix for cattle born in Northern Ireland has been replaced with XI0 to satisfy EU Animal Health Law introduced in April 2021. The UK17 sheep tags have been changed to XI17, while the UK identifier, 826 encoded on sheep EID tags has been replaced with 899 to indicate NI origin.


The Upper Bann MP said: “The new format for cattle and sheep identification tags was announced in March with no prior consultation. Animal ear tag prefixes in Great Britain remain unchanged but Northern Ireland farmers are being forced to use the EU decreed designation XI.
“Such a change is nonsense. XI means nothing to anyone and dilutes the UK branding that is renowned throughout the world, for the high quality and excellent welfare and environmental standards associated with its livestock.”
The new XI ear tags have been available from approved suppliers since 24th June.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Carla Lockhart continued: “Farmers have been concerned that the ‘XI’ prefix will cause confusion and jeopardise access to existing and premium GB markets, where the ‘UK’ prefix will remain in use.
“I am pleased that the DAERA Minster has listened to politicians and industry representatives, and has taken the decision to revise the length of the transition period. However, he needs to push back on this ridiculous and unnecessary change.
“Many herd owners have already bought tags and will need time to use existing stocks. The original January deadline was out of sync with the farming calendar and herd owners, especially those with spring calving enterprises, wouldn’t have had enough time to utilise tags. Implementing the January deadline would have forced farmers to destroy stocks of UK9 tags, resulting in a financial loss for livestock keepers.”
Ms Lockhart is urging livestock owners to continue using existing stocks of UK9 tags. “Ear tags that were already purchased prior to the 24th June can be used during the ten-month transition period, but herd and flock owners must be aware that the ‘XI’ prefix is due to become mandatory at the end of June 2025.”
Advertisement
Advertisement
There is no statutory requirement to re-identify livestock already carrying UK9 ear tags; and if an animal double-tagged UK9 at birth loses a tag, then the tag supplier will issue a UK9 replacement.
UFU deputy president Glenn Cuddy said, “From the outset, the UFU urged DAERA to manage this change with caution, stressing that our farmers need sufficient time that would work alongside the farming calendar causing minimal disruption, and that clear communication to notify farmers would be essential. The UFU raised that the transition did not allow livestock farmers sufficient time to use up stocks of ‘UK’ tags and the financial impact this had on keepers who currently hold large quantities of ‘UK’ tags.
“It is encouraging that DAERA listened to the concerns raised by the UFU, that the provisional switchover date of January 2025 was too early and didn’t allow farmers sufficient time to use up stocks of ‘UK’ tags.”
Only ‘XI’ prefix tags can be used on newborn cattle, sheep, and goats from 30 June 2025.
Advertisement
Advertisement
“The New ‘XI’ prefixed livestock tags have been available to purchase from tag suppliers since 24 June 2024 and can be used from that date. However, existing stocks of ‘UK’ tags held by livestock keepers can continue to be used alongside the new ‘XI’ prefix tags until the switchover date,” said Mr Cuddy.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.