ScotEID works closely with the Scottish livestock sector & Scottish Government to design, develop and deliver solutions to ensure robust traceability and minimise legislative difficulties.
Scottish sheep, pig & cattle keepers can register with ScotEID in order to meet or minimise current legislative requirements.
ScotEID is pleased to help promote a new research initiative led by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the University of Nottingham, which aims to improve how cattle disease is managed across all four nations of the UK. Please note: It’s specifically aimed at those who keep cattle.
The project team is calling on cattle keepers to share their experience and knowledge to help shape better disease control strategies. Information about the project can be found at www.bvdplatform.org
They’re asking for just 15 minutes of your time to complete a short questionnaire — your input could make a real difference to the future health of our national herd.
Take part and help inform this important work:
👉 Click here to access the questionnaire
Please note: ScotEID is not involved in conducting this research but is sharing this opportunity on behalf of SRUC and the University of Nottingham.
ScotEID, working in partnership with the Scottish Government's Animal Health and Welfare (AHW) Division, has launched a new online system to record Bluetongue Virus (BTV-3) vaccinations.
This system enables livestock keepers to record vaccinated animals (cattle, sheep, and goats) by entering their individual identification numbers. All vaccinations must be recorded on ScotEID within 48 hours of being administered.
The vaccine recording tool is built on the existing ScotEID platform and is designed to be simple and easy to use. Livestock keepers already familiar with ScotEID will find the process straightforward.
Key features of the system include:
Please speak to your local vet about a vaccination strategy and always follow the vaccine manufacturer’s instructions.
For more information and to access the vaccine recording system, log in to your ScotEID account or visit the Bluetongue Virus guidance page.
At midnight on Friday 25 April the ScotEID database system will be offline for one hour for scheduled maintenance.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause users.
At the NFUS conference on Friday 7 February John Swinney MSP, First Minister announced that Scotland would introduce Ultra High Frequency (UHF) electronic identification (EID) for cattle. During the subsequent question and answer session Mairi Gougeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands confirmed that UHF EID would be introduced by the end of 2026. A link to the First Ministers announcement is attached below:
From 1 January 2025, calves will only be eligible for a SSBSS payment if:
The 410 day calving interval threshold will remain unchanged for the 2026 scheme year.
You can read more about the rules in these Frequently Asked Questions.
For the new SSBSS scheme condition on calving intervals, the calving interval will be calculated based on ScotEID birth registration data. All calf births must be registered on ScotEID within 27 days of birth in accordance with the cattle identification and traceability regulations. Unregistered calves will not be considered when establishing a calving interval for SSBSS.
The cattle identification and traceability regulatory requirements for registering a live calf that dies or a still born calf are:
The Sheep and Goat Annual Inventory for 2024 is NOW CLOSED.
Should you have any queries relating to the survey that are not connected to completing it, please email sheepandgoatinventory@gov.scot
Holding registers for cattle and sheep are available to download from the following links:
The Sheep and Goat Annual Inventory for 2024 is now open and available for completion at www.scoteid.com/survey
Sheep and Goat keepers have been sent an email from the Animal Health and Welfare Disease Prevention Team within Scottish Government.
The SGAI is available to complete via the online survey only. More information is available in the guidance. The survey closes on the 30th January 2025, please ensure your Sheep and Goat Annual Inventory is completed by then.
Should you have any queries relating to the survey that are not connected to completing it, please email sheepandgoatinventory@gov.scot
Click here to read the Scottish Government official notice to complete the annual inventory.
At the request of the industry, the Scottish Government are providing financial support to the sheep industry to develop an OPA disease control programme and this pilot is now in its second year. The pilot has been developed by the industry-led Scottish OPA working group and it aims to increase the number of veterinary practitioners with proven expertise in recognising signs of OPA in live sheep through ultrasound scanning in the absence of any better diagnostic test.
One of the farmers recruited to the project hosts the YouTube channel ‘The Sheep Game’ and has made a video about OPA scanning while their vet was out scanning: WE HAVE OPA! (youtube.com). There is also a video about scanning produced by Moredun: Research in a Nutshell - OPA Control (youtube.com).
Sheep keepers will benefit through earlier diagnosis and interventions allowing for affected animals to be culled and removed from flocks at an earlier stage. Compensation payments are being made to farmers for the removal of animals which will be used for the collection of tissue samples for definitive diagnosis to validate the ultrasound scanning technique and for future studies such as development of a new live diagnostic test.
If you know of any farms that would be interested in being involved in the pilot project there are still some limited spaces available. If you are willing to participate in this pilot and have your flock scanned for OPA please contact Chris Cousens at the MRI (chris.cousens@moredun.ac.uk).