Sheep Digital (LIS) Vet Attestation Functionality – Go Live
We are pleased to inform you that you can now use the Livestock Information Service portal (England) to digitally record a vet attestation for a sheep keepers’ holding.
This new functionality follows the update from Defra regarding the requirement for livestock producers to acquire a veterinary attestation for livestock intended for the food chain and which may (or the products derived from their livestock) be exported to the EU.
If the farm is part of a farm assurance scheme such as Red Tractor, they do not need to take any action.
For those who aren’t, there will be a requirement to obtain a signed attestation from a vet to confirm that a vet visit has taken place on the holding, the biosecurity of the holding has been assessed and the relevant advice has been issued as required. The vet attestation visit can be combined with other routine vet visits, so long as all livestock species on the farm are considered.
The declaration will include a ‘Vet Attestation Number’ – known as a ‘VAN’. An annual Defra health and welfare review (known as a ‘Pathway’ visit) can also provide a VAN. Farmers will then be required to provide the VAN reference on the Food Chain Information (FCI) documents accompanying the animal or batch of animals when they record a movement to markets or to the abattoir.
The new digital capability on the Livestock Information Service (LIS) for sheep will allow vets to record and complete the vet visit attestation on the digital platform for a sheep keeper’s CPH and will allow abattoirs to be able to view that attestation before processing the animals.
It is important to note that this digital solution is currently only available for holdings with sheep. If the holding has multiple species (such as cattle or pigs) and they are not part of a farm assurance scheme, then the VAN number can still be supplied to the farmer but it will need to be recorded in a different way, through the FCI documentation as above, or via the eAML2 digital system for pig movement recording.
How it will work
Once the vet has completed the farm visit, they will be able to log in to LIS, using their RCVS credentials, and complete their veterinary attestation on the system, which will produce a veterinary attestation record and generate a VAN.
Please note: Vets must print or save this record at the point of completion to provide a copy to the livestock keeper.
Additional guidance, FAQ’s and a video demonstration of how to use LIS is available here.
For further guidance on the vet attestation requirements, other species and alternative paper-based solutions, please follow the useful links below: