Cattle charges adjourned

Court hearings for five people charged with offences relating to the alleged misuse of cattle ear tags and livestock traceability offences have been adjourned to July.

Eight people are facing a total 159 offences after being charged in December last year with offences under the Livestock Disease Act and its regulations.

Five of the accused were listed for mention hearings at Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday. All five hearings were adjourned until July 16.

An Agriculture

Victoria investigation lasting more than 12 months and involving raids on West Gippsland properties in 2019 culminated in charges being laid against eight accused.

The investigation largely surrounded alleged breaches of the National Livestock Identification Scheme (NLIS) and involved links to several West Gippsland properties.

The Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR) is listed as the prosecuting agency.

An Agriculture Victoria spokesperson said in January the livestock traceability was a key pillar of Victoria’s strong biosecurity system.

“Everyone in the supply chain has a responsibility to ensure livestock are correctly tagged, livestock movements are accurately recorded, and paperwork completed correctly when livestock are moved,” the spokesperson said.

The NLIS is Australia’s system for the identification and traceability of cattle, sheep and goats.

Producers are required to identify livestock with NLIS tags, conduct livestock movement transfer on the NLIS database when livestock move and ensure an accurate and complete National Vendor Declaration is completed when livestock move off their property.