This move is necessary in order to give breeders modern tools to carry out operations independently, while controlling the number of cattle and their location, and to enable the reduction of the spread of diseases.
Israel’s Agriculture Ministry will be conducting a cattle census in early January 2023. The census will be carried out over the month and will be used to document and register the heads of cattle living in the State of Israel.
The census will be done using a form that will be sent to each breeder, containing the current documentation that exists in the system, and the breeder will update the form according to the changes in the herd.
According to the ministry, more than 710,000 cattle in Israel, out of which 300,000 cattle live in dairy farms, 295,000 are imported for fattening and slaughter and around 110,000 heads graze in pastures.
Each breeder is obligated to pay a separate fee for every government processing of his or her cattle (marking, registration, and transport permits). The ministry wants to reduce red tape and collect a unified, fixed fee for the services it provides, based on the number of cattle heads owned by each breeder.
A breeder who does not participate in the census will be forced to pay the fee according to the most recent government registration of the herd.
Dr Tamir Goshen, Director of Veterinary and Health Services at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said, “This move is necessary to give breeders modern tools to carry out operations independently, while controlling the number of cattle and their location, and to enable the reduction of the spread of diseases. Through this move, the bureaucracy involved in raising cattle in the State of Israel today will be reduced, which will facilitate their daily conduct, without compromising public health and the health of the animals.”