ABU DHABI - The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) has launched a new awareness initiative highlighting the importance of updating livestock data.

The initiative aims to ensure accurate and up-to-date animal numbers and track the health and production situation, thus contributing to the development of the livestock sector in Abu Dhabi.

This initiative will create an up-to-date and comprehensive database of livestock in the emirate. This will facilitate informed decision-making for the sector's development, increase productivity, and strengthen food security. It will also employ support tailored to the needs of breeders and herd composition and enable better monitoring of animal movements.

The initiative comes in response to feedback from breeders who reported insufficient support due to outdated data. Despite ADAFSA's significant efforts to address breeder needs, maintaining accurate livestock information is crucial for maximising the economic returns from livestock farming.

ADAFSA urged livestock owners to complete the identification and registration of untagged animals in the Animal Identification and Registration System. When moving animals to another location, breeders should apply for tagging services through the "TAMM" platform to benefit from ADAFSA's support and services.

The authority prohibited removing any approved means of identification (tags) without its consent. Furthermore, selling, purchasing, transferring, or holding untagged animals is against the law and could result in legal consequences, as per relevant livestock legislation.

The animal wealth sector receives considerable support and attention from the wise leadership, as evidenced by the encouragement of Emirati farmers to engage in livestock breeding and care.

The Animal Wealth Sector at ADAFSA is committed to developing plans and programmes tailored to livestock breeders. It plays a crucial and effective role in the growth and preservation of livestock in Abu Dhabi to achieve food security and biosecurity objectives.