Pak to issue unique identity codes to animals after 'census'

Animals in Pakistan's Sindh province will soon be registered and given unique identity codes as lawmakers have passed a law to maintain a computerised record of livestocks, a media report said today.
The identification code hanging around the neck of the animals will not be removed or replaced without permission, Livestock Minister Mohammad Ali Malkani said.
Authorities will maintain birth and death records of the animals after their registration, The Express Tribune reported.
The law, passed yesterday, will establish a database of animals for their registration, tagging and identification in the province, the report said.
The database would be similar to the National Database Registration Authority, an independent and autonomous agency responsible for issuing computerised national identity cards to the citizens of Pakistan.

"The law aims to improve existing livestock sector practices in line with international standards for trade and marketing," the objectives of the law read.

According to the Sindh Livestock Registration and Trade Authority Bill, 2017, an authority will be established after 60 days of the passing of the law with the sole purpose of regulating animal registration and identification in the province.
"A centralised computerised database will be developed which will update the records of animals, butchers, traders and animal transporters," the law said.
With implementation of the law, all animals in the province will be given a unique code, the report said.

"The identification code hanging around the neck of the animals will not be removed or replaced without permission of the authority," Malkani said, adding that after the database is established, the authority can maintain a record of all species of animals.
"We will keep the record about details of movement each time an animal is moved. A person who owns different species of livestock has to keep the authority in the loop about the birth and deaths of their animals within seven days of the (birth or death). After the law, we will have information about any animal, its owner and proper address," he said.

The law said that animal movement documents or transport permits will be issued if any person wants to transport animals from one province to another, according to the report.
"The authority will maintain date of departure and other records with the signature of the animal keeper," reads Section eight of the law.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement lawmaker Sumeta Afzal Syed proposed an amendment to issue fitness certificates to animals when they are being transported.
"Many animals suffer from transmittable diseases, so we have to ensure that the animals being transported are safe and healthy," she said.
The amendment was incorporated in the law.