Canadian Cattle Identification Agency

General information

Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) is a not-for-profit, industry-initiated and led organization. It was incorporated to establish a national beef and dairy cattle, bison and sheep identification program to support efficient trace back and containment of serious animal health and food safety concerns in the Canadian herd. The agency is led by a board of directors made up of representatives from all sectors of the livestock industry and it manages the Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS) database, which is a trace-back system that maintains radio frequency identification (RFID) tag information related to herd of origin information. The CLTS database allows producers to record tag information pertaining to the three pillars of traceability (i.e., animal identification, premises identification and movement), as well as value-added information (e.g., age verification). The CLTS database was developed and is wholly-owned by Canadian Cattle Identification Agency.

While the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) provides full regulatory enforcement for animal identification as defined in the Health of Animals Regulations, CCIA administers the identification program for beef and dairy cattle, bison and sheep. All herd of origin information associated with each tag number is maintained within the CLTS database.

What is it?

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency states that traceability is the ability to follow an item or group of items – including animals, plants, food products and agricultural inputs such as feed, seed or ingredients – from one point in the supply chain to another.

Why is important?

The purpose of implementing a traceability system is to ensure the protection of animal health, public health and food safety; improve response times in emergency situations (e.g., disease outbreak, tornadoes, floods, fires, contaminated feed supplement); as well as limit economic, environmental and social impacts. Traceability also provides the means to increase market share for domestic and international markets by creating confidence in Canadian products. A strong and credible traceability program will help to ensure Canada remains a leading producer and marketer of beef and dairy cattle, bison and sheep, with a stable demand for products at all times.

How does the system work?

A fully-functional traceability system is based on three pillars:

1. Animal identification – Associating a unique animal identification number to an animal (e.g., applying an approved CCIA radio frequency identification (RFID) tag to an animal’s ear)

2. Premises identification – The assignment of a unique identification number to a physical land location (i.e., by a provincial/territorial premises registrar)

3. Movement – Recording the change in location (i.e., unique premises) of a uniquely-identified object at a specified time/date

1 + 2 = 3

In order to track movement and facilitate a fully-functional national traceability system, every livestock premises must have a valid premises identification number (PID) issued by the corresponding provincial/territorial PID registry in Canada, including:
• Cow-calf operations
• Feedlots and backgrounders
• 4-H clubs, exhibitions, fairs and rodeos
• Veterinary clinics, artificial insemination centres, test stations, pathology labs, quarantine facilities, research facilities
• Auction marts, buying stations and assembly yards
• Rest, feed, water sites and airports (in transit)
• Public or private community pastures, federal and crown grazing land
• Abattoirs
• Any party that receives or sends livestock