How Livestock Movement Is Tracked Across the UK and Ireland

Livestock movement tracking is one of the most important aspects of running a compliant livestock mart. Whether you’re selling store lambs in Scotland or dairy heifers in Kilkenny, accurate traceability is a legal requirement — and a cornerstone of responsible farming.

🇬🇧 UK: Livestock Information Service (LIS) & BCMS

In England, the system for cattle traceability is managed by the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS), which is now being integrated into the new Livestock Information Service (LIS).

Key elements:

• CPH Numbers: Every holding is assigned a County Parish Holding number.
• CTS (Cattle Tracing System): All cattle movements must be reported to CTS.
• Ear Tags: Cattle must be double-tagged with a unique ID.
• Electronic Movement Reporting: Movement data is reported to LIS, which will unify all livestock species under one system.

LIS will gradually replace legacy services like ARAMS (for sheep and goats) and eAML2 (for pigs), centralising livestock movement tracking across species.

In this post, we break down how livestock movements are recorded, regulated, and reported across the UK and Ireland, and how MartEye Studio supports these systems natively.

🐑 Wales: EIDCymru

Wales operates EIDCymru, the central system for recording sheep movement. It allows marts to:

• Upload movement data electronically
• Validate tag numbers in real time
• Link to holding and haulier information

All movements of sheep (except to slaughter in some cases) must be reported within 3 days.

🐖 Scotland: ScotEID

Scotland uses ScotEID, which supports the electronic recording of livestock movements across multiple species:

• Sheep (with EID)
• Cattle (via integration with BCMS)
• Pigs (with food chain information)

ScotEID also supports the Keepers’ Register, required for all sheep and goats, and offers validation tools for marts and abattoirs.

🇮🇪 Ireland: AIM, APHIS, and NIFAIS

Ireland’s traceability system is divided by jurisdiction.

In the Republic of Ireland:

• AIM (Animal Identification and Movement system) is the national cattle and sheep database.
• Managed by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)
• All movements must be notified within 7 days.
• Movements must be reported for births, deaths, sales, and exports.

In Northern Ireland:

• APHIS (Animal and Public Health Information System) has historically been the main database.
• NIFAIS (Northern Ireland Food Animal Information System) is gradually replacing APHIS and aims to improve species integration.

🎯 How Studio Handles Movement Data

MartEye Studio integrates directly with key movement systems and provides:

✅ Pre-checks before the sale — identify invalid or missing tag data

✅ Batch upload support — upload tag lists in bulk for fast processing

✅ Real-time error indicators — flag issues like invalid destinations or unmatched records

✅ Destination CPH tagging — automatically attach buyer destination to lots

✅ Post-sale syncs — generate clean, structured movement files per species and jurisdiction

Studio reduces manual data entry and helps ensure your market stays compliant across all territories — without needing to switch tools or software.

🐄 Why It Matters

Markets are under increasing pressure to be fast, transparent, and compliant — all at once. Studio removes the need to manage movement data across spreadsheets, legacy databases, or disconnected systems.

Whether you’re in Enniskillen or Exeter, Studio supports your livestock movements — from booking to reporting — in a single, secure, and streamlined flow.